Republicans see Iran deal as threat to Saudi alliance: Analyst

Republicans have stepped up their efforts to undermine the nuclear agreement with Iran, which they see as a threat to the alliance with long-time regional ally Saudi Arabia, says an analyst.

Republicans in the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a measure this week that could undermine the nuclear accord, setting up a potential showdown with Democrats and the White House over one of President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy initiatives.

Committee members approved the bill in a voice vote, which will then be considered by the full House next week.

Opponents of the measure say it is an attempt by Republicans to undermine the nuclear deal because they failed to gather enough votes to scuttle it last year.

Rodney Martin, a former congressional staffer, said the vote was “political gamesmanship” designed to attract votes in the 2016 elections.

“All these members of Congress and senators that are beholding to Jewish-Zionist interest and Israel are stomping their feet and going, ‘We are still working on behalf of Israel and Zionism instead of peace and American interest,’” Martin told Press TV on Saturday.

“It is also a way to try to get a do-over on a vote that they lost,” he added.

The Republicans’ game-plan is to increase their majority in the Senate and the House and to elect a Republican president to implement their policies more easily, the analyst noted.

By doing so, Martin said, Republicans “intend on voiding that deal and reigniting thirty years of hostility with Iran, which is the only stable political player and nation in the Middle East.”

“The Republicans consider Saudi Arabia to be a great American ally, and Saudi Arabia is just engaged in mass execution and ethnic cleansing of Yemen and exporting terrorism in the form of ISIL,” he added.

“But that’s who the Republicans want to align the American foreign policy with. So the Iran deal is in the way of that,” Martin concluded.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement may be only "days away," as Tehran is meeting its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Kerry told reporters at the State Department that he had spoken to his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who promised Tehran would live up to its promises vis-à-vis the accord.

"The foreign minister made it clear to me they intend to complete obligations with respect to implementation day as rapidly as possible," Kerry said.

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