How Biden Could Avoid Obama’s Biggest Iran Mistake
A nuclear treaty backed by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate is more likely to stick and produce results.
Next time, get the Senate to sign off.
Photographer: Kevin Lamarque/AFP via Getty Images
In March 2015, as nuclear negotiations between Iran and the world powers entered the home stretch, 47 Republican senators wrote an open letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warning that a future president could revoke any deal signed by President Barack Obama “with the stroke of a pen.” Since Obama was negotiating without congressional approval, the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, would be only an executive agreement, subject to alteration or abrogation.
The warning was ignored. The lead Iranian negotiator, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who claimed an acute understanding of American politics, made no effort to engage with the Republicans. The other negotiating powers, their eyes on the billions of dollars in anticipated trade deals with the Islamic Republic, pretended not to notice that Obama was acting without the imprimatur of the Senate.