Senate Republican: Obama breaking law by lifting Iran sanctions

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on Wednesday said it’s illegal for President Obama to lift sanctions against Iran under the nuclear deal reached earlier this year.

“The president is in violation of the law if he lifts these sanctions because the law states clearly that process can’t begin until we’ve gotten all the documents,” said Toomey, who faces a tough reelection battle next year.

{mosads}Some Republican senators have argued for months that the congressional review period for the Iran nuclear deal should not have started because the administration didn’t give Congress the text of what are being called side deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Toomey’s comments, however, come amid a fresh wave of concern from Republicans about the nuclear agreement after reports that Iran launched a missile test last month. The administration is reviewing the claim.

Administration officials previously said that an initial missile test in October violated a United Nations Security Council resolution, but not the nuclear deal because it is limited to Iran’s nuclear program.

Toomey, however, suggested Wednesday that because Iran could use the missiles to launch a nuclear warhead, the two issues are inextricably linked, calling the U.N. resolutions banning missile tests an “integral part” of the nuclear agreement.

“Despite everybody pointing out that they were in violation of the [joint comprehensive plan of action] with the first launch, they demonstrated just how concerned they were about that by a second launch,” he added. “Iran is in open violation of the JCPOA. They obviously have contempt for this agreement.”

Other Republican lawmakers, along with Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), have criticized the administration for not taking a firmer response to Iran’s missile test, though they haven’t gone as far as Toomey to suggest that it also violates the nuclear deal.

Senators, including Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), have suggested that not punishing Iran for testing missiles signals to the country that it would be able to get away with violating the nuclear agreement.

Under the nuclear deal, the United States will move forward with lifting sanctions against Iran on “Implementation Day.” Though that date hasn’t been specified, it’s expected to occur during the first half of 2016.