Sen. Peters 'reluctantly' supports Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters agreed Tuesday to support a deal between the U.S. and other western nations and Iran to lift economic sanctions against that nation in exchange for it scaling back its nuclear program.

Peters, D-Mich., said in a statement released by his office that he continued to have "serious" reservations about the agreement, including whether it gives Iran access to "tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets."

However, Peters said he would "reluctantly" vote against any effort to derail the agreement, believing that it is the best way of protecting U.S. "credibility" and ensuring that Iran is held accountable for any violations.

By coming out in support of the deal, Peters, who had long been a holdout, helped give President Barack Obama 41 votes in the U.S. Senate, which is enough to filibuster Republican-backed legislation to stop the deal.

Two other Democrats, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon, also signaled their support of the Obama administration's agreement with Iran.

Even before Tuesday's announcements, however, Obama had enough votes in the Senate to ensure his opponents did not have the 67 votes needed to override his veto of any measure attempting to block the agreement, which is a key part of his administration's foreign policy legacy.

Detractors of the deal say it legitimizes Iran's nuclear program and is not tough enough on a nation considered an international state sponsor of terrorism. The Obama administration has maintained that economic sanctions have failed to successfully stop Iran's nuclear development and that the deal provides for unprecedented access to investigators to ensure Iran is living up to its part of the bargain.

The U.S. and other nations could reimpose sanctions if Iran is found in violation of the proposal. Congress has until Sept. 17 to attempt to block the measure through legislation.

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, also D-Mich., has already signaled her support for the deal, as have all the other Democrats in Michigan's congressional delegation.

Peters, who just returned from a trip to the Middle East and who has been a strong supporter of sanctions, said his biggest concern with the deal is that it allows Iran to enrich uranium, something he considers a "stark departure from our country's past non-proliferation policies."

But he acknowledged that the deal slows the enrichment of uranium in the short term, requiring Iran to export or dilute the vast majority of its material and limiting its number of centrifuges used to enrich uranium. It also severely limits Iran's capability to enrich uranium over the next 15 years.

"(If) Iran fails to meet its international obligations under this accord, I will support the immediate reinstatement of congressional sanctions, and I will encourage my colleagues in Congress to do the same," Peters said.

He added that "preventing an Iranian nuclear breakout may (eventually) require the use of military force, and if necessary I will support doing so to ensure the United States, Israel and the global community never has to face the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran.”

“Despite my serious concerns with this agreement, I have unfortunately become convinced that we are faced with no viable alternative," Peters said. "(A) rejection of this agreement will damage the international credibility of the United States. ... (A)ttempting to go it alone and implement unilateral sanctions without a coalition of nations will only weaken our standing."

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.