Obama faces opposition on Iran deal from another Democrat; US Jewish community appears concerned

U.S. President Barack Obama is facing opposition in his own party regarding the Iran nuclear deal. Democrat Representative Carolyn B. Maloney said on Thursday that she would vote against the deal.

Maloney is not the only Democrat against the deal. There are other New York Democrats including Senator Chuck Schumer who is against the nuclear deal with the Islamic republic.

Maloney represents the East Side of Manhattan and parts of Queens and Brooklyn. She issued a statement that the nuclear deal would not prevent Iran from seeking nuclear weapons in future.

“This is an agreement with a nation that has not honoured its non-proliferation commitments in the past,” NY Times quoted the statement. She warned that the agreement “could also make the region even more dangerous by giving Iran access to financial resources, weapons and power.”

Iranian news agency Press TV notes that Maloney is the sixth New York House Democrat to oppose the agreement in public. It adds that a number of New York Democrats opposing the Iran deal, including Schumer and Representative Eliot Engel, are Jewish.

Obama has been trying to win Congress’ support on the agreement. The opposition from the colleagues of his own party appears to be a setback from the U.S. president. He needs at least 34 Senate Democrats to support the Iran deal so that a presidential veto can be sustained in case Congress rejects the deal.

NY Times also points out that the Jewish community in New York is concerned about Israel which may face a potential threat from nuclear-armed Iran. It reports that Representatives Nita M. Lowey, Steve Israel, Kathleen Rice and Grace Meng have opposed the deal so far, making Maloney the seventh Democrat against the Iran deal.

The U.S. Congress will vote on the Iran deal in September.

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