Should approval of an international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program be linked to Iran’s history of sponsoring terrorism?
That question will move to center stage Tuesday when a Senate committee considers legislation that in essence would add renouncing terrorism to the list of Iran’s commitments for the United States to honor a final deal.
The terrorism provision, as it’s called, strikes at the heart of the profound differences between President Obama and Congress over the framework nuclear accord worked out by the US and five other world powers earlier this month. Mr. Obama would leave out such provisions, counting on implementation of the agreement to modify Iran’s behavior over time. But many in Congress see an Iran set free from economic sanctions to pursue even more aggressive activities in the region.
For antiproliferation analysts and the Obama administration, the terrorism stipulation is tangential and would very likely kill the deal.
But for others, in particular a large number of Senate Republicans, Iran’s support for terrorism is central to any nuclear deal. For one, the ramifications of recognizing the legitimacy of a nuclear program on the soil of an internationally recognized sponsor of terrorism are too great to ignore. Moreover, Iran has a history of threatening the existence of Israel.
Iran’s connection to terrorism will be just one of the issues discussed Tuesday when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers a bill to ensure congressional oversight of any final nuclear deal with Iran. The legislation would give Congress a 60-day review period, during which the president would be barred from lifting any Iran sanctions that were imposed with congressional approval.
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SOURCE: Howard LaFranchi
Christian Science Monitor
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