Republicans face heavy lift on Iran deal

Rubio doubts if it’s possible to fix ‘flawed agreement.’

WASHINGTON — Republicans asked for major say on the Iran nuclear agreement two years ago and never got it from Democrat Barack Obama.

Now that President Donald Trump has directed Congress to make the international pact more stringent, the GOP is finding that having that voice won’t be easy.

Republicans will have to win over skeptical Democrats and key allies in Europe who are wary of altering the accord that they believe has prevented Iran from assembling an arsenal of atomic weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. Republican leaders also may face resistance from members of their own party.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Friday he’ll reserve judgment on any legislation but has “serious doubts about whether it is even possible to fix such a dangerously flawed agreement.”

Trump on Friday angrily accused Iran of violating the spirit of the nuclear deal that was forged with the U.S. and other world powers in 2015, blaming Tehran for a litany of malign behavior and hitting its main military wing with anti-terrorism sanctions.

But the president, breaking with a campaign pledge to rip up the agreement, said he was not yet ready to pull the U.S. out or re-impose nuclear sanctions.

Instead he kicked the issue to Congress and told them to toughen the law.

Taking the lead will be the Republican whom Trump has been feuding with — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Corker, in a conference call with reporters on Friday, focused on perhaps the most significant task of his chairmanship and didn’t address the bitter back and forth with Trump.

He previewed the main elements of legislation he is developing with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a national security hawk who has echoed Trump’s more confrontational approach toward Iran, to toughen the nuclear accord and the law governing U.S. participation in the deal.

“Over the last several months, we have been working closely with the State Department, National Security Council and Senator Cotton to develop a legislative strategy to address bipartisan concerns about the (Iran deal) without violating U.S. commitments,” Corker said in a statement.

On the call, Corker promised an open legislative process.

“You’re going to see all this evolve in daylight,” he said, adding that the bill could be introduced in the next two weeks.

The legislation would amend a two-year-old law that allowed Congress to review the accord.

It would reduce from four to two the number of times a year Trump is required to certify to Congress that Iran is complying with the terms of the agreement.