Republican senator: Iran letter further divides Senate

Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) suggested Monday that a letter sent by Senate Republicans to Iran’s leadership will make it more difficult to avoid a bad nuclear deal with Iran.

Coats, one of seven Senate Republicans who did not sign the letter, said it further divided the Senate.

“The reason I did not sign the open letter to Iran is not because I disagreed with the goals of the letter,” he said in comments on the Senate floor. “All Senate Republicans, and I believe many Senate Democrats, are in agreement on the overall objective of avoiding a bad deal with Iran.

“But, the strategy we need to accomplish this essential goal is now in question, and we are divided now in a way that makes this goal harder to achieve,” he said. 

The letter suggested that any deal the administration makes on Iran’s nuclear program could be overturned once Obama leaves office. 

Democrats, as well as the Obama administration, slammed the Republicans for the letter, suggesting they were undermining the talks.

“Lack of bipartisan consensus at this moment on this issue is likely to lead to a fatally flawed deal that destroys more than a decade of effort to bring Iran to cease its goal of nuclear weapons capability,” Coats said.

He suggested that the “fatal flaw” in the proposed deal is a “sunset clause” that he said could allow limits on Iran’s program to expire in roughly a decade.  

“Ten years is tomorrow afternoon; it’s a blink of the eye. Such a sunset clause makes this entire enterprise unacceptable. Any agreement that contains a sunset clause must be rejected,” he said. 

The Indiana Republican said Congress could prevent a bad deal, but senators have to work together. 

“We need to work together as Republicans and as Democrats for the future security of our nation,” he said. “I plead with and I urge my colleagues, all my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, to rise above any political considerations and work together to ensure that this Senate can prevent Iran from getting the bomb.”