Sen. Michael Bennet backs Iran nuke deal

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) is backing President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, bringing the White House closer to the 60 votes needed to block a Senate resolution rejecting the deal.

“Our primary objectives are to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon, make sure Israel is safe and, if possible, avoid another war in the Middle East,” Bennet said in a statement first reported by The Denver Post. 

{mosads}”This agreement represents a flawed, but important step to accomplish those goals,” added Bennet.

Bennet, who is facing a tough reelection race in 2016, becomes the 38th Democratic senator to announce support for the deal since it was first rolled out in July. 

President Obama needs 41 votes in the Senate to prevent a resolution disapproving the deal. If it passed, he would almost certainly veto it. 

Obama earlier this week secured enough in the Senate to prevent lawmakers from overriding his veto.

Bennet, who is up for reelection in 2016, will also unveil a legislative plan aimed at strengthening the international accord with Iran while steering more money toward Israel for its national defense, according to the Post.

“It is no surprise to me that there are sincere, heartfelt differences of opinion about the merits of this deal. ‘There are no prophets in our time,’ a former Israeli general told me. I agree. None of us knows what lies 10 or 15 years on the horizon,” Bennet said in the statement.