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Intel: How partisan battle lines over US Iran policy are shaping up

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) speaks at a press conference on the need for increased government transparency at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 15, 2017.  REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC1503C6AFF0

Twelve senators introduced legislation on Thursday that would ban the Donald Trump administration from attacking Iran without congressional approval. The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., with the support of Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., boasts the support of one Republican: Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Why it matters:  The bill, which mirrors legislation Udall first introduced in September, marks the latest salvo in the increasingly partisan battle over the future of US Iran policy. The liberal lobbying group J Street immediately endorsed the legislation, arguing that “the Trump administration’s destructive approach is alienating key US allies and courting disaster.”

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