The last thing that should fall victim to Republican primary politics is the effort to contain Iran's nuclear program. The stakes are too high for the United States and its allies for the deal to become the latest casualty in the standoff between the White House and congressional Republicans. The bill heading to the Senate floor as early as today is a reasonable balance of power between the president and the legislative branch, and it would have the practical benefit of keeping the delicate negotiations on track. The Senate should approve it and send it to the House.
The legislation is a relief valve that could help resolve one of the longest-running threats to global security. President Barack Obama announced in April that the United States, Iran and the major world powers had reached a framework agreement to halt Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The deal, expected to be finalized by July, would limit Iran's nuclear enrichment activities, mothball several secretive nuclear sites and secure its stockpiles of spent fuel in exchange for the easing of international sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.
Members of Congress from both parties demanded a say in the negotiations, and the bill the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously sent to the full Senate would give lawmakers at least 30 days to consider the deal before Obama could waive any congressionally mandated sanctions against Iran. Lawmakers could reject the agreement, though the bar for disapproval is so high that Obama would most likely not face a congressional defeat. The measure also forbids Congress from taking apart elements of the deal, which should give the administration the leverage to convince Iran that the talks will produce a durable agreement.
Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas are putting the bill at risk by pushing amendments that only serve to scuttle the deal and cater to Republican primary voters. Rubio, who is running for president, wants to force Iran to recognize Israel. Cotton — who has served in the Senate for only four months — wants to impose onerous new restrictions even as negotiations continue over the agreement.
These are self-serving poison pills that undermine the goal at hand: to keep Iran from producing weapons-grade fuel and moving closer without any international oversight at all to expanding its nuclear capacity. The vast majority of the Senate and both political parties recognize what Rubio and Cotton do not: This represents the best and perhaps last chance to resolve the crisis with Iran peacefully and to bolster Israel's security in the process.
Any further delay will only raise Tehran's suspicions and put the deal in jeopardy by emboldening Iran's hard-liners to demand new concessions. Losing this opportunity would be an outrageous price to pay for letting two freshman senators burnish their hawkish credentials at the nation's expense.