Sen. Al Franken has expressed his support for the Iran nuclear deal that’s due for a vote in congress. The Iran deal, negotiated by the Obama administration led by Secretary of State John Kerry, is controversial. Many Republicans are threatening to block the deal, with a smaller group threatening not to honor the deal even if it wins approval. To underscore how divisive the Iran deal is, New York’s two Democrat senators — Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — are on opposite sides of the issue, with Schumer vowing to vote against.
Despite Franken’s reservations, the Minnesota senator comes down on the side of realpolitik, saying in an editorial at CNN that the deal is the “most effective, realistic way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon anytime in the next 15 years.” Sen. Franken also acknowledges that as sanctions are lifted as part of this difficult bargain the “non-nuclear threat to the region may grow.”
