In mid-July, international negotiators parlayed a nuclear deal with Iran. The deal would likely be Obama’s greatest achievement as President. But this agreement with Iran has led to a stand off between President Obama and opponents to the deal in the senate.
Immediately after the deal was announced, a 60-day review period was called to examine the document. The CATO Institute’s article covering the deal highlights animosity held towards a nuclear deal with Iran from some in the senate.
Obama vowed to veto any legislation that attempts to stop the deal with Iran. In doing this, he’s forcing the senate to either side with him on the legislation, or come to a two-thirds consensus against him. The current makeup of the senate is such that even if every Republican senator voted to block the deal (a feat in itself), they’d need at least a dozen democrats to vote against it in order to override the President.
As tensions increase in the senate, international relations scholars have largely sided with the President’s deal. The National Iranian American Council organized a letter showing support for the nuclear agreement, and 73 prominent international relations scholars signed. Since the letter was first released on August 27th, 11 more scholars have signed on from universities in Canada, the US, and Sweden, among others.
The letter from the NIAC also claims that the Iran-US deal would be a massive step in stabilizing the tension in the region; this comes at a time where international relations is making headlines as refugees flee conflicted areas and try to find asylum in Europe.
“Indeed, the carnage in Syria can not be ended in the absence of US-Iran diplomacy. Nor can the threat of the ISIS be neutralized without US-Iran dialogue and possibly cooperation. The plague of sectarianism will not be halted unless the US has the ability to engage with all sides of that divide.”
International relations work is critical in relieving tensions in the Middle East. Peace may be difficult to accomplish, and the solutions will never be simple, but international relations experts are committed to making sure their voices are heard in finding those solutions.