The US House of Representatives is set to kick off its review of a final nuclear deal with Iran this week following a month of parallel activity in the Senate.
The Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing July 9 with former George W. Bush administration arms control official Stephen Rademaker and other outside experts on the implications of a nuclear agreement. Negotiators in Vienna aim to have a final deal inked by the end of the week, since going past July 9 would give a disapproving Congress 60 days instead of 30 to bar President Barack Obama from lifting sanctions and potentially scuttle a deal.
Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., has raised serious misgivings about the deal that appears to be taking shape in Vienna.
"As we anticipate a congressional review of the Administration's possible nuclear agreement with Iran, we’ll be looking to see how the Administration has done on Congress’ red lines," Royce said in a statement. "This hearing will be the first in a series the Committee will hold should the Administration strike what might be one of the most significant agreements in decades. As I have said, no deal is far better than a bad deal.”
AL-MONITOR All-Access gives you unlimited access to all our journalism, the full Daily Briefing, exclusive interviews, premium newsletters, and live events — for less than $2/week.