Scientists support Iran nuclear deal

Twenty-nine top scientists, including Nobel laureates, veteran makers of nuclear arms and former White House science advisers, wrote to U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday to praise the Iran deal, calling it innovative and stringent.

The letter, from some of the world’s most knowledgeable experts in the fields of nuclear weapons and arms control, arrives as Obama is lobbying Congress, the U.S. public and the nation’s allies to support the deal.

The two-page letter may give the White House arguments a boost after the blow Obama suffered Thursday when Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York announced he would oppose the deal, which calls for Iran to curb its nuclear program and allow inspections in return for an end to international oil and financial sanctions.