Obama Nears Needed Votes on Iran Nuclear Deal

Obama Nears Needed Votes on Iran Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON — President Obama all but clinched victory for his Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, as two Democratic senators threw crucial support behind the landmark accord.

The announcements by the senators, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Chris Coons of Delaware, came a week before the Senate was to formally debate a Republican resolution disapproving the agreement between Iran and six world powers.

Mr. Obama would veto any such resolution, and with further announcements of support for the accord expected as soon as Wednesday, any move to override him would almost certainly fail.

Mr. Coons’s decision in particular is likely to have resonance with the few remaining undecided Democrats. As an outspoken member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he expressed grave concerns about the deal before deciding any alternative would be far worse.

Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said in a statement that he would support the Iran nuclear deal, despite deep concern that Iran would not hold up its end of the bargain.

Despite the continuing rancor on Capitol Hill, there was also growing recognition, even among some accord opponents, that the other nations — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, and especially Iran — would be unwilling to renegotiate the agreement even if Congress formally rejected it.

Senator Chris Coons, center, in Delaware on Tuesday, said he would back the Iran nuclear deal

The pledges of support by Mr. Casey and Mr. Coons meant the White House was just one vote short of the 34 needed to prevent a disapproval resolution from becoming law. Supporters of the agreement are now hoping to secure 41 votes to filibuster the resolution, ensuring the accord can be put into effect without the drama of a presidential veto negating the will of Congress.

In most cases, however, the support has been far less than enthusiastic as lawmakers have confronted one of the most deeply divisive policy debates of modern times, with the security of Israel and the stability of the Middle East potentially at stake.

Mr. Casey, who announced his decision in a 17-page memo that included a page and a half of footnotes, said in an interview that he still had many deep reservations, especially doubts that Iran would keep up its end of the bargain. But he said he ultimately concluded that it was in the national security interests of the United States to support the agreement.

“This agreement will substantially constrain the Iranian nuclear programfor its duration, and compared with all realistic alternatives, it is the best option available to us at this time,” he wrote.

Mr. Casey said that after years of leading other countries in sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program, the United States simply could not walk away from the deal, especially when it was clear that the other five powers were prepared to move forward in any event.

“Every indication I got was that it wasn’t going to work to get them back to the table,” Mr. Casey said.

“They made it very clear that maintaining sanctions and renegotiating wasn’t going to work, and part of that was just the practical reality.”

He added, “To have led that effort and then to just say, ‘We’re going to walk away,’ it just doesn’t make sense.”

Mr. Coons said in a speech at the University of Delaware on Tuesday that just that morning he had received personal, written assurances from Mr. Obama on a range of concerns before finally deciding to endorse the deal.

In the House, Representative Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee and an important voice in his party, also came out in favor of the deal on Tuesday. And Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, came out in support of the accord despite his past reliance on pro-Israel groups for his political rise.

The unease expressed by supporters — including concerns about the possibility that easing sanctions would end up funneling billions of dollars to terrorist groups in the Middle East — underscored the political agony that the nuclear deal has created for lawmakers, particularly Mr. Obama’s fellow Democrats.

For the president, however, it mattered little how many footnotes, asterisks or other caveats come with the pledges of support.