White House: Iran deal will proceed despite House action

As the Senate moved to end debate on its disapproval resolution and move to a full, up-or-down vote — a move that will require 60 senators.

The South Lawn of the White House (photo credit: REUTERS)
The South Lawn of the White House
(photo credit: REUTERS)
WASHINGTON -- The nuclear agreement reached with Iran will be implemented as scheduled after September 17, a deadline for congressional review of the accord, a White House official told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday night.
Anticipating the agreement will survive any vote in Congress, the Obama administration is now bracing for a new strategy among House Republicans seeking to stop the clock on that review period.
The GOP caucus now argues that the White House failed to submit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in its entirety, pointing to "side agreements" made between the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency and Tehran— agreements on which implementation of the broader deal rely.
But the White House says those agreements do not constitute side deals: They are the transactions of a UN body and a participating member state, the administration contends.
"The text of the JCPOA lays out a series of steps and benchmarks leading toward adoption and implementation," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price, "and the administration intends to keep our commitments."
The House caucus plans to proceed with a resolution that would declare the administration in non-compliance with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, followed by a vote of approval on the accord.