Politics

Alaska senators say 'no' to Iran nuke deal

Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan both plan to vote against approving President Barack Obama's proposed deal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, citing concerns that the U.S. gave up too much in negotiations.

The Senate is expected to vote on the Iran nuclear deal in September after returning from recess. President Barack Obama plans to veto a vote that would not approve the deal, and the Senate needs a three-quarters vote to override a veto. Consequently, the White House is aiming for just 34 approving votes.

That's looking like a more difficult proposition every day, as several Democrats have indicated they intend to vote against the deal.

On Friday, Murkowski announced that she has made a decision to vote against the deal.

"From the start, I viewed the proposed agreement with skepticism but owed it to my constituents to take an objective look," Murkowski said in a statement. "Since then I have reviewed the documents, received input from Alaskans, participated in the administration's closed door briefings, and considered the views of foreign policy experts on all sides of the issue."

Sullivan has been pushing to vote against the deal from the start. "I am one of the senators who's been leading the charge to not approve that," Sullivan said in an interview Friday, citing his experience as a marine and "as an assistant secretary of state who worked on Iran sanctions issues in the (George W.) Bush administration."

"I've read the entire agreement, we've been having hearings -- closed door hearings, open hearings," Sullivan said. "I think it's an agreement that would dramatically undermine our national security and that of our allies in the Middle East."

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Secretary of State John Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who was a key part of the deal, have struggled to sell it on Capitol Hill, even though the president has said that the deal -- negotiated with five other world powers -- cannot be changed.

Sullivan called the effort to keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon "one of the biggest foreign policy issues our nation has faced in years, decades maybe."

But he and Murkowski say the administration's deal isn't good enough.

"I actually basically walked away from this deal three times," Kerry has said, asserting that the final product meets the standards the U.S. wanted.

Unknown terms of a deal between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which inspects facilities for evidence of bomb-making, remain a key sticking point for many lawmakers.

The terms of the agreement, along with the "secret deals" between Iran and the IAEA, "give me great concern," Murkowski said Friday.

"The administration claims this deal makes the world a safer place, but I have grave doubts. As such, I will vote against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action when it comes before the Senate in September," Murkowski said.

If the agreement is not approved, "there will be no inspections, no sanctions, no insight into their program, no restraints, and we will have lost the support of the international community," Kerry said.

"People have to account for what's next the day after we say no," Kerry said. There are "not going to be negotiations for a better deal," and yet many countries will have lifted economic sanctions, he said.

Sullivan has argued that under the deal, reinstating sanctions could take years, and the deal leaves the U.S. without key leverage.

And Murkowski said she is not convinced that Iran has abandoned its "nuclear ambitions."

"At best (the agreement) puts a pause on Iran's final preparations toward becoming a full-fledged nuclear state," Murkowski said.

She argues that other nations aren't adequately inclined to "call Iran out on violations, not simply rationalize them away in order to keep up appearances that the deal is working."

"Before causing the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and allowing sanctions to expire, I seek clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence of Iran's commitment to change its ways and act as a responsible player on the world stage," Murkowski said.

"Nothing in this deal is a bet on the future of Iran's behavior. Nothing in this deal is based on trust. Everything in this deal is based on verification and uncertainty," Kerry said.

Erica Martinson

Erica Martinson is Alaska Dispatch News' Washington, DC reporter, and she covers the legislation, regulation and litigation that impact the Last Frontier.  Erica came to ADN after years as a reporter covering energy at POLITICO. Before that, she covered environmental policy at a DC trade publication and worked at several New York dailies.

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