Republican votes on Iran deal just meant to please Israel lobby: Medea Benjamin
The Republicans should accept defeat on the Iran nuclear agreement and move on instead of pushing for futile votes in Congress to please the Israel lobby, an American anti-war activist and political activist says.
Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the American peace movement CODEPINK, which opposes US military actions, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Thursday, after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican attempt to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal by linking it to Israel and American “prisoners” in the Islamic Republic.
Also, the Republican senators failed once again on Thursday to gather the 60 votes needed for the resolution of disapproval against the Iran nuclear deal and bring it to the Senate floor for a final vote. It was third unsuccessful attempt to advance the resolution of disapproval since September 10.
“It is sad to see that Republicans won’t accept reality that this deal is going to go through,” Benjamin said.
“They are looking for any other ways to try to stop the deal by tying it into US ‘prisoners’ in Iran, by tying it into refusal to lift the sanctions. They know that whatever they do, if need be, President Obama will veto it,” she added.
“So it is really just symbolic at this stage. Perhaps, what they are doing is trying to show their friends at AIPAC and Bibi Netanyahu in Israel that they are still pushing to show the world that they are against this deal,” she observed.
“But in terms of the agreement itself, it’s just waste of everybody’s time at this point to keep trying to block it,” the peace activist noted.
Thursday's vote comes after Democrats previously blocked the resolution of disapproval from moving forward twice in the Senate.
With neither chamber of Congress expected to go for another vote on the Iran nuclear agreement, the legislation aimed at sabotaging the historic agreement is essentially dead, and that the deal will now take effect without a veto showdown between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Obama administration.
“They won’t be successful because whatever they do, if need be, the president will veto it. So everybody knows that this deal will go through,” Benjamin reiterated.
“Maybe they will come up with some ways to try to sabotaging the deal... Today was the last day they had to vote the deal down. They were not able to do that. I think they should accept the defeat and move on,” she advised.
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