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JCPOA approval in Congress vindicates Obama: Analyst

US President Barack Obama speaks during an event to mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 27, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

Press TV has interviewed Nader Baqerzadeh, a California-based political analyst, to discuss the challenges that US President Barack Obama is facing over the nuclear agreement with Iran.

Following is a rough transcription.

Press TV: Obama is only one vote away from a veto-proof deal. Many analysts are saying that the talk has now shifted towards whether Obama will have to use his veto power at all. How much do you agree with this analysis?

Baqerzadeh: I think it is true. One more Senator is left, the two Senators that went for it today, as reported by the New York Times and as you reported earlier, are very powerful [and] prominent Senators.

Senator Coons is the co-chair of the Foreign Relations committee, so there is a very good chance that the next Senator will go along. I don’t know which one that would be.

Press TV: But then what next after Obama reaches the veto-proof threshold or the 34 votes to block the disapproval of the deal? In other words, what difference does it make?

Baqerzadeh: It makes a big difference. Basically Mr. Obama will be vindicated that he has come up with an agreement that is being supported by 34 Senators from his own party. He would have wished probably more; perhaps some from the Republican party but unfortunately that is not going to happen.

And he is trying to shoot, as you just mentioned, for 41 Senators so they can filibuster and then stop this on its track so there will be no need to actually use the veto.

Press TV: How much do you think any future US president would move to annul the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action?

Baqerzadeh: The future president, if it is a Republican as you have heard from some of these candidates, pretty much will try their best. So there is no reason to believe that 18 months from now they will not be able to do something that is different from what Mr. Obama want to do and also some of the Senators, as wrote in their letter to the Wall Street Journal, they are trying to convince the US states to do not go and follow the federal government, although Mr. Kerry said that even if it is in the agreement that they will try their best to stop states from derailing this … so there is a chance that the states could proceed and do something against these sanctions but I don’t know how impactful would it be if the federal government is against it.


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