Debate, demonstrations for Iran deal in Washington

Trump, Cruz join forces; Clinton defends accord

WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidential campaign collided head-on with congressional debate on the Iran nuclear deal Wednesday, producing an only-in-Washington political spectacle inside Congress and out as lawmakers readied for what could be the most consequential foreign policy vote of their careers.

As the day began, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the accord, which already has enough support to survive a disapproval resolution in Congress. “Diplomacy is not the pursuit of perfection. It is the balancing of risk,” she said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. Either the deal moves forward, or “we turn down a more dangerous path leading to a far less certain and riskier future.”

Across town, Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz and other conservatives were preparing to headline an anti-deal rally on the lawn of the Capitol building that houses Congress. And at the same time, debate on the measure aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program began in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, where supporters and the White House were pushing to block passage of a disapproval resolution.

Both candidates slammed President Barack Obama’s agreement to the complex deal at without negotiating the release of four Americans who remain in captivity in Iran. Trump added this pledge:

“If I win the presidency I guarantee you that these four prisoners are back in our country before I ever take office.”

Trump did not explain how he would accomplish that goal.

The deal is unanimously opposed by congressional Republicans and by the leaders of Israel, who fear a newly enriched Iran could wreak havoc across the Middle East. Leaders of Sunni Arab nations like Saudi Arabia also have concerns.

The protests in Washington won’t change the ultimate approval of the international agreement, which has been clear for days: Even if a disapproval resolution manages to pass the Republican-controlled Congress, President Barack Obama has secured enough support to sustain a veto of it.

The agreement struck by Iran, the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany in July will provide Iran hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions in exchange for a decade of constraints on Iran’s nuclear program.

Although the wheels of Congress are turning in favor of the president, those opposed are launching an all-out push against the deal. Several hundred members of a pro-Israel lobby were to be at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to reject the deal with Iran, whose leaders have threatened to destroy the Jewish state.

In the Senate as of Tuesday, 42 Democratic and independent senators had announced support for the deal — one more vote than needed to block passage of a resolution of disapproval and hand Obama a major foreign policy victory.

But it remained unclear if all 42 would go along with procedural maneuvers to effectively block the resolution from advancing. The administration is pushing for that outcome and Senate Democrats were meeting Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry, a lead negotiator of the accord.