No Iran Deal Tonight Empowers Congress

The race is on in Vienna to complete a deal between world powers and Iran over the country’s nuclear program by midnight. If a deal is not reached by then, Congress will get an extra 30 days to review and possibly scuttle it. Both sides agreed on a self-imposed deadline of Friday, July 10.

Tim Mak reports for the Daiy Beast that while Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday the deal is a “about 96 percent complete,” an Iranian broadcaster quoted an official saying a deal was “unlikely” tonight.

On Wednesday afternoon, President Obama and his national security team held a secure video conference with American negotiators for the first time since a draft nuclear deal was agreed upon on March 31. U.S. law holds that if negotiators submit the text of the deal to Congress by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, the House and Senate will have 30 days to scrutinize the deal while American sanctions remain in place. If the deal is submitted at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Congress will get another 30 days to review and possibly scuttle a deal.

Mak reports that the Obama administration has incentives to avoid the longer period of time for review, during which time the Republican-led House and Senate could rally opposition to the deal.

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