{"id":2609,"date":"2015-08-31T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thediplomaticenvoy.com\/?p=2609"},"modified":"2015-09-21T20:30:18","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T00:30:18","slug":"menendez-to-vote-against-iran-nuclear-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2015\/08\/31\/menendez-to-vote-against-iran-nuclear-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Menendez to Vote Against Iran Nuclear Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Garay<\/a><\/strong>
\n Web Editor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On August 18, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) firmly stated that he would vote against the Iran deal in the Senate. He is the second top-ranking Democrat after Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to break party lines and join the opposition to the agreement.<\/p>\n

The School of Diplomacy and International Relations hosted the senator\u2019s televised foreign policy address at Seton Hall University. The former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee noted that he has spent the last two decades dealing with \u201cnational security and foreign policy issues\u2026of a momentous nature.\u201d The Iran deal, he said, was \u201cone of those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Menendez was part of the opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While his vote, he noted, was unpopular at the time, he declared that it was one of the best decisions he has ever made. He applied the same reasoning and principle to his position against the newly-struck Iran deal.<\/p>\n

To bolster his argument, the Senator brought forth research of Iran\u2019s various installations for the research of nuclear material, the enrichment of uranium, and the powering of reactors. In addition, he mentioned quotes from members of organizations vigilant of Iran\u2019s nuclear ambition, at one point using Secretary of State John Kerry\u2019s own words against him\u2014regarding Arak, an Iranian plutonium reactor, Secretary Kerry told senators, \u201c[The Iranians] need to dismantle it or we will destroy it<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The senator pointed to Iran\u2019s role in destabilizing the Middle East as a reason to oppose and reject the deal. Threats against Israel, support of the Houthis in Yemen, support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are just a few of the positions Iran has taken in the region.<\/p>\n

Despite months of negotiation and postponing deadlines, Senator Menendez dismissed the deal as \u201ca purchase of an expensive alarm system.\u201d As the author of sanctions proposals against Iran and a co-author of legislation that mandates the congressional review of the Iran dea<\/a>l, he noted that it calls for the lifting of sanctions. This would unfreeze over $100 billion in Iranian assets and resume trade amongst the contracting nations.<\/p>\n

However, the Senator said there is no mechanism for a return to sanctions, contrary to White House claims that disobeying the provisions of the agreement would result in \u201cfurther isolation and pressure<\/a>\u201d for Iran. In addition, secret deals<\/a> between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran recently discovered outside of the agreement may possibly limit the \u201canytime, anywhere\u201d access of international inspectors.<\/p>\n

With the Senator\u2019s opposition explained, he outlined his idea of a\u00a0better deal: \u201cWe can disapprove this agreement, without rejecting the entire agreement.\u201d His proposal calls for the immediate restart of negotiations producing a principled agreement that would be stronger in demands and longer in duration. He claimed it would be more effective than the existing deal as it would demand not only for Iran\u2019s nuclear program to be halted, but also the dismantling of infrastructure that enables it, such as Arak and Fordow bases, where the enrichment of uranium is said to occur under a mountain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 18, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) firmly stated that he would vote against the Iran deal in the Senate. The School of Diplomacy and International Relations hosted the senator\u2019s televised foreign policy address at Seton Hall University. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1860,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[383,388,389],"tags":[396,397,398],"class_list":["post-2609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us","category-mid-east","category-diplo-news","tag-iran","tag-nuclear-deal","tag-nuclear-weapons"],"yoast_head":"\nMenendez to Vote Against Iran Nuclear Deal - The Diplomatic Envoy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/thediplomaticenvoy\/2015\/08\/31\/menendez-to-vote-against-iran-nuclear-deal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Menendez to Vote Against Iran Nuclear Deal - The Diplomatic Envoy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On August 18, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) firmly stated that he would vote against the Iran deal in the Senate. 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