In the face of another looming defeat on trying to block the P5+! nuclear deal with Iran, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker (R – TN) is focused instead on the upcoming vote on the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act.
The act is set to expire next year, and the bill would extend it another decade. There’s little disagreement in Congress about this, though President Obama has objected to pushing a vote right now on the grounds the timing would make the US look like it’s averse to the nuclear deal.
Sen. Corker suggests that the extension vote could come soon, and that he is confident the Senate could get the 67 votes needed to override a presidential veto, though again there’s been no indication a veto might come unless the legislation is dramatically altered in a way to threaten the nuclear deal.
That could happen though, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is openly talking about submitting amendments to the Sanctions Act that put a bunch of extra conditions on Iran getting the sanctions relief promised in the nuclear deal, including Iran endorsing Israel as a “Jewish state.” That’s likely to be a non-starter with Israel, but whether it imperils the veto-proof majority remains to be seen.