Alluding to the widespread support that the Iran nuclear deal enjoys, with as many as 86 countries including India backing it, the White House has asked the Republican-controlled Congress not to kill the
historic pact as such an action will only isolate the United States even as the sanctions regime is bound to crumble.
Since the announcement of the deal earlier this month, 86 countries (including India) have issued public statements in its support, White House
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said, cautioning lawmakers: “That is an illustration of how isolated the United States would be if the Congress were to kill this deal.”
As Republican lawmakers continued with their all-out criticism on Capitol Hill, Earnest made the point that US sanctions alone would be little avail, given that the 86 countries backing the deal include not only the five other world powers who negotiated alongside the US with Iran, but also six countries (including India) that are currently allowed to import Iranian oil at restricted levels.
If Congress kills this deal, Iran is still going to get sanctions relief, Earnest said, noting: “We know that all these countries that have indicated their support for the agreement are no longer going to make the economic sacrifice to enforce these sanctions. That means that Iran is getting sanctions relief whether or not Congress kills this deal.”
The spokesman also pointed to the grim possibility of such a rejection making a military conflict with Iran more likely. “It’s going to be impossible for us to reassemble an international coalition to reach a diplomatic agreement if the United States stands alone in killing a diplomatic agreement that’s supported by the rest of the world -- or at least 86 other countries around the world, including countries like China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and Taiwan,” he said.
The US Congress, which has begun a review of the Iran deal, is expected to vote on the measure only in September, when it reassembles after a summer recess lasting nearly 40 days.
A hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week saw Republican lawmakers grill Secretary of State John Kerry and other members of the Obama administration, leading to tense exchanges. Some Democratic lawmakers also voiced their concern over the deal.
Sticking to the administration line, Kerry told the lawmakers how “problematic” it would be for the United States to walk away from the deal. As he put it, “If we walk away, we walk away alone. Our partners are not going to be with us. Instead they will walk away from the tough multilateral sanctions that brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place. And we will have squandered the best chance that we have to solve this problem through peaceful means.”