Senate to consider Iran bill

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry personally pleaded with House Republicans and Democrats on Monday to give the Obama administration more room to negotiate a final nuclear deal with Iran, but several lawmakers said they remained skeptical and a bill to give Congress a say about a deal gained momentum.

Republicans and Democrats who maintain that Congress should be able to weigh in on an international deal with Tehran to curb its nuclear program have lined up behind the legislation. President Barack Obama has pushed back, threatening a veto while warning that Congress should not take any action before negotiators from the U.S., Iran and five other nations have a chance to reach a deal by the end of June.

“We have two and a half months more to negotiate, that’s a serious amount of time with some serious business left to do,” Kerry told reporters outside a congressional auditorium where he was giving a closed-door briefing.

A Senate panel is set to vote today on the intensely debated bill that would give Congress a say on a potential deal aimed at keeping Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Associated Press