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The United Nations Security Council voted Monday in favor of the full implementation of a nuclear energy deal reached between Iran and six other countries.
The landmark deal, after 10 years of negotiations, is now being reviewed by the United States' Congress with strong opposition from Israel and the Republican majority that controls the House and the Senate.
Despite the wide consensus surrounding the deal – which would allow Iran to develop nuclear energy, but prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons – Republican lawmakers demanded the White House postpone the vote in the U.N. until after they had reviewed the document.
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“It's presumptuous of some people to suspect that France, Russia, China, Germany, Britain ought to do what the Congress tells them to do,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a televised interview.
The vote, which coincided with the re-opening of embassies between Cuba and the U.S., was met with outrage from Republican leaders.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, also a presidential hopeful, dubbed the day as “Capitulation Monday.”
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It's time to leave yesterday's foreign policy behind. Click here if you agree. https://t.co/fXCT7vL3Nf
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio)
julio 20, 2015
“History will remember July 20, 2015, as Obama's Capitulation Monday, the day two sworn enemies of the United States were able to out-maneuver President Obama to secure historic concessions,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Kerry and other U.S. officials stressed that, despite the U.N. Security Council vote, Congress has a 60-day period to review the deal, which is more than enough to make their own deliberations.
However, the vote at the U.N. may persuade skeptical lawmakers to change their minds about rejecting the bill.
