Supporters of Iran deal near key vote total to back up Obama
Supporters of the Iran nuclear deal are on the cusp of clinching the necessary U.S. Senate votes to keep the contested agreement alive and hand President Barack Obama a major foreign policy victory in spite of furious opposition.
Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and Chris Coons on Tuesday became the 32nd and 33rd senators to announce support for the deal, just one shy of the 34 votes needed to uphold an Obama veto of Republican legislation aimed at blocking it.
"This agreement will substantially constrain the Iranian nuclear program for its duration, and compared with all realistic alternatives, it is the best option available to us at this time," Casey said in a statement. In remarks at the University of Delaware, Coons said: "I will support this agreement despite its flaws because it is the better strategy for the United States to lead a coalesced global community in containing the spread of nuclear weapons."
