Lawmakers in Congress might not be definitely set on killing the Iran nuclear deal, although Republicans in Congress unanimously objected to the deal two years ago when then-President Barack Obama's administration set it up.
Lawmakers are saying they could use a fast-track mechanism that would allow lawmakers to relaunch sanctions against Iran with approval from a simple majority vote, according to Politico.
Republicans hold a narrow majority with 52 seats in the Senate, and even Democrats who opposed the deal two years ago now want it to remain. Republicans would face an uphill battle to gain enough votes to reinstall sanctions, which would effectively kill the Iran deal.
President Donald Trump has an Oct. 15 deadline to certify that Iran is in compliance with the deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran that had been in place for decades as a trade for protocols on restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.
"I don't think that we should relieve Iran of its obligations," said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "They realize the benefits already of the sanctions relief. And now, to be in a position where they could get out from under the protocols under the agreement, that's what I'm worried about."
Democrats including Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, approve of the deal. Trump should "enforce the hell out of" the Iran deal, Royce said, according to Politico.
"There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship: Republicans would cast a vote that would set Iran back on a path to a nuclear weapon. I just can't understand why any Republican would want that on their conscience, or would want that politically," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Trump administration officials have said that Iran is violating the "spirit" of the deal, although international inspectors say they are complying, Politico reported.
If Congress reinstalls sanctions against Iran, the U.S. would be violating the deal, not Iran, a Democratic official said.
European allies of the U.S. also oppose killing the deal. "I'm not sure what effect it will have" if the U.S. exits the deal, because the other countries in the deal — the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany — will keep abiding by it, according to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, vowed not to renegotiate the Iran deal, according to a Monday interview in Politico.
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