UN Security Council Votes to Approve Iran Nuclear Agreement
The United Nations Security Council unanimously endorsed the Iran nuclear agreement on Monday.
Following weeks of negotiations in Vienna, the U.S. and five other world powers recently reached an historic agreement with Iran, which places limits on its nuclear program for the next 10 years and its research for the next 15 years, reports CNN. In exchange, the world powers agreed to ease economic sanctions on the Islamic republic. As a result, Iran will be able to sell oil to the U.S. once again, which could result in major savings for U.S. drivers.
The 15-member U.N. body adopted a resolution to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. However, it will be able to re-impose U.N. penalties over the next 10 years if Tehran fails to uphold their end of the bargain, reports Reuters.
However, the provisions of the resolution will not be implemented for another three months in order to give the U.S. Congress time to review it, reports The Wall Street Journal. Still, many congressional members are criticizing President Obama's decision to first send the proposal to the United Nations before it could be reviewed by Congress.
"There was nothing to be lost by waiting until after the review period was over," said Sen. Ben Cardin, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to Politico. "It could be inconsistent [with how Congress votes] and therefore it would have been better if that had been deferred until after the 60-day period."
Likewise, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, called the action "an affront to the American people."
After the Security Council approved the proposal, Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel and Republican Rep. Ed Royce released a statement saying they were "disappointed" that the U.N. Security Council voted "before Congress was able to fully review and act on this agreement," reports The Hill.
"Regardless of this morning's outcome, Congress will continue to play its role," they added.
In response, the Obama Administration defended the U.N. vote, pointing out that lawmakers were granted two months to review the proposal.
"No ability of the Congress has been impinged on," said Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.
He added that the administration was forced to move forward with the U.N. vote because other countries would not concede to the idea of delaying their landmark agreement until one country's legislature gets to review it.
"Frankly, some of these other countries were quite resistant to the idea, as sovereign nations, that they were subject to the United States Congress," Kerry said. "When you're negotiating with six other countries, it does require, obviously, a measure of sensitivity and multilateral cooperation that has to take into account other nations' desires."
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