Kerry expected to face tough questioning on Iran nuke deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to face tough questioning Thursday, July 23, when he appears at a Senate committee to sell the nuclear deal agreed with Iran, BBC News reports.

The U.S. Congress has two months to review the deal, which is opposed by Republicans, who control both Houses.

The senators on the Foreign Relations Committee are expected to quiz Kerry at length on the content of the deal with Iran.

Many Republicans say last week's accord conceded too much to Tehran.

Opponents within Congress could reject the agreement - but President Obama could veto their decision.

Negotiations between Iran and six world powers - the U.S., UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - began in 2006. The powers suspected Iran of pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program, something Iran strenuously denied.

Iran, which wants international sanctions lifted, has agreed to rein in its nuclear activity and accepted a mechanism for inspections by nuclear officials.

The sanctions cannot be lifted while Congress is discussing the deal - until Sep 17 at the earliest.

Thursday's meeting, which starts at 10:00 EST (15:00 GMT), gives Kerry - along with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew - the chance to make a case to lawmakers to pass the deal.

But the three cabinet officials are likely to encounter a great deal of scepticism.

"Iran is a terror-sponsoring anti-American regime," said Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas. "This deal is going to give tens of billions of dollars - at a minimum - without doing anything to rein in their support for terror or their support for America's enemies."

Cotton, along with Mike Pompeo, a Republican Congressman from Kansas, wrote to Obama on Wednesday to express their concern over what they called "side deals" nuclear inspectors were discussing with Iran.

A State Department spokesman said there were no secret deals and that there were only "technical arrangements".

Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the committee, said he had a number of concerns - in particular the amount of what he called "leverage" Iran would receive - but that he had not yet decided how to vote.

A number of other Democrats have said they do not know how they will vote, including Ben Cardin, the committee's most senior Democrat, who said he had "many areas of concern".