Congressional Leaders Warn Against Reports of Iran Deal

Boehner Urges Obama to 'Walk Away' From Talks Outright

With reports picking up of a possible final Iran nuclear deal in a matter of days, Congressional leaders are once again stepping up the rhetoric against the talks and the deal, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) insisting Obama would face a “hard sell” in convincing Congress to accept any deal.

That’s been a long-standing problem, with Israel lobbying heavily against any deal on any terms. With the July 9 deadline passed, Congress will have 60 days to vote on any nuclear deal, which increases the chances of that lobby having time to kill the pact.

House Speaker John Boehner (R – OH) hopes it doesn’t come to that, because he doesn’t want negotiations at all, let alone a pact that he has to vote again, insisting today on Face the Nation that President Obama should “walk away” from the talks immediately and unconditionally.

The administration has repeatedly threatened to do exactly that in recent days, a puzzling tactic given how close the deal reportedly has been. The prospect of the US unilaterally withdrawing from the talks seems to be getting the hopes of Congressional hawks up, and adding to anger that the negotiations continue.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.