Israel Hails Bigger U.S. Congress Input on Any Iran Deal
Israel welcomed on Wednesday a compromise deal struck in Washington giving U.S. lawmakers a say on any final agreement on Iran's nuclear program.
Israel is bitterly opposed to the emerging agreement between Iran and world powers that would rein in but not halt Tehran's nuclear activities and has rallied its allies in the U.S. Congress in a bid to block it.
The U.S. administration, which has made an Iran nuclear agreement a top priority, has been desperate not to allow that to happen and Secretary of State John Kerry spent two days lobbying lawmakers before a compromise was reached in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee late on Tuesday.
The compromise bill raises the threshold for critics in Congress to block any deal but Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said the opportunity for skeptical lawmakers to review any agreement was still welcome.
"The compromise reached in the Senate (committee) is a good one and a very important development," Steinitz told public radio, describing it as "an achievement for Israeli policy".
Speaking in Germany on Wednesday after his delayed arrival for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, Kerry too welcomed the compromise, saying he was confident it would not hamper the administration's ability to negotiate a full agreement by a June 30 deadline.
"Yesterday there was a compromise reached in Washington regarding congressional input," he told reporters.
"We are confident about our ability for the president to negotiate an agreement and to do so with ability to make the world safer."
Source: Agence France Presse
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