(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
As multilateral talks over Iran's nuclear program continue with the U.S. leading the negotiations, Congress seems to be doing its best to complicate things. And both Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are doing their part to help.
Earlier this week, as 16,000 people convened in Washington, D.C., to attend AIPAC's annual conference, the powerful pro-Israel lobby made it clear that the organization would push not only for increased sanctions on Iran-through the passage of the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act-but also for the ability to make it more difficult to lift sanctions later, via a new bill, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
This latest bill, introduced on Friday by Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, would give Congress a 60-day period to review any negotiated nuclear deal, and if Congress were to reject the deal, then the president would be barred from lifting sanctions.
Josh Rogin reported in Bloomberg View that top members of the Obama administration, including Secretary of State John Kerry, pressured Democrats to oppose the Corker-Menendez bill, lest it complicate the already fragile negotiations with Iran. Nevertheless, some Senate Democrats signed on, because there is, as Rogin puts it, "broad Congressional desire not to be totally shut out of the [negotiating] process."
After AIPAC's annual conference, it is evident that the pro-Israel lobby plans to capitalize on this congressional "desire" and to escalate its fight with the White House. While the Obama administration and AIPAC both declare that a nuclear-armed Iran is not an option,
AIPAC and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have set a considerably higher bar for what a "good deal" with Iran would look like.
For AIPAC and Netanyahu, a "good deal" would mean allowing for zero enrichment of uranium for any purposes-a non-starter for the Iranians. They also seek a "permanent" deal that locks Iran under restrictions indefinitely. But as Lara Friedman, from the pro-Israel policy organization Americans for Peace Now, has explained:
Iran is in trouble right now because it has repeatedly violated the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), resulting in sanctions. Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program are grounded in the understanding that by demonstrating compliance with all of its NPT obligations, Iran will no longer be in violation of the NPT and Iran's tenure in the international doghouse-at least with respect to its nuclear program-can come to a close (at least so long as Iran remains in compliance). An Iran nuclear agreement-whether its provisions are in place for 10 years, or 15 years, or however many years are agreed on-would dramatically mitigate the threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
Just like the "zero enrichment" idea, Iran would never be able to sell a "permanent" deal to its people. The six world powers leading the diplomatic efforts with Iran (Russia, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, and the U.S.) understand this and are working to come up with a reasonable compromise that still ensures Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. If AIPAC and Netanyahu are serious about pursuing a diplomatic resolution to this conflict-and avoiding war-then their adamant opposition to both of these ideas raises serious questions.
At the AIPAC conference, speakers spelled out how they could use Congress to thwart the president from passing a deal they deem "bad." On the gigantic screens in the convention center's large plenary hall, AIPAC instructed attendees to "insist on a congressional role" when they lobby on Capitol Hill, because "on such a critical issue to U.S. national security, Congress must assert its historic role in foreign policy and review any agreement."
Passing the Corker-Menendez bill might be an easier sell in Congress than imposing additional sanctions, because it is easier to argue that Congress should have "a voice" in the negotiating process. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday night that he wants to fast-track the bill, which might complicate its ability to garner enough Democratic support in time. Menendez has threatened to vote against his own bill, "outraged" at McConnell's political move.
Edward Levine, an advisory board member for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to international peace and security, argues that the bill is more harmful than helpful:
Do [Senators] really want to send a message to Tehran that the President may be unable to fulfill his commitments? Do they really want to move the goalposts by adding support for terrorism to the list of reasons for reinstating sanctions? The Corker bill will endanger both the negotiations and the sanctions regime; it does not merit support.
AIPAC is also trying to bolster Congress's role in the negotiations by minimizing the fact that there has always been significant presidential authority built into U.S. sanctions legislation. The authority comes through various mechanisms, such as "waivers," special rules, and legislative exemptions, which allow a president to decide, often unilaterally, whether and to what degree to lift or implement sanctions. He can make these choices if he believes doing so is in the national security interest of the United States.
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, AIPAC's legions of supporters pressured Congress to impose more sanctions and to reduce the executive branch's power to lift sanctions. Let's just hope that the Iranians do not take this as a signal that the negotiators' commitment to ease sanctions in exchange for good behavior is feeble. Because if the negotiations fail, the war that everyone is trying to avoid is that much more likely.
