Menendez second Senate Dem to come out against Iran deal

Julie Wiener

(JTA) — New Jersey’s Sen. Bob Menendez announced he opposes the Iran nuclear deal.

Menendez’s announcement Tuesday during a speech at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, makes him the second Senate Democrat to oppose the deal, which lifts sanctions on Iran in exchange for it curbing its nuclear program.

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, also a Democrat, announced his opposition to the Iran deal on Aug. 6.

Menendez, the senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the deal would enable Iran to become “flush with money”, which it could use “to further pursue their destabilizing hegemonic goals in the region,” NBC News reported.

“We want the right deal and a deal that does nothing more than delay the inevitable is not a deal we are willing to make,” Menendez added.

While most Republicans are against the deal, negotiated between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, Democrats have mostly supported it.

Congress has until late September to decide whether to reject the agreement.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.