Heller: Obama left ‘no choice’ but to sign Iran letter

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada said Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s refusal to allow the Senate to vote on a nuclear deal with Iran left him “no choice” but to sign the provocative message that Republicans delivered to the Middle East power this week.

Heller added the angry reaction to the letter from Democrats and the Obama administration has been “overhyped.”

“It tells you we really hit a nerve on this,” he said.

The Nevadan was among 47 Republican senators who signed the letter declaring they would regard any deal signed by Obama but not approved by Congress as nothing more than an agreement that could be reversed by the next president “with the stroke of a pen.”

The letter was seen as a rare attempt by members of Congress to intervene in diplomatic talks and sparked a strong reaction from the White House and Obama allies on Capitol Hill. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., for one, accused Republicans of trying to sabotage the negotiations, calling it a “hard slap in the face” of the United States.

Heller said he had “no choice but to sign the letter” after Obama said he would veto a bill Republicans were preparing that would have subjected any Iran agreement to a Senate vote. A vote against the agreement would not have been binding but probably would have complicated Obama efforts to waive economic sanctions as part of the deal.

“It is very, very clear that the president wants to go alone on this, and he doesn’t want any input,” Heller said. “He doesn’t want to give the Senate the right to ratify this particular treaty. So I am more inclined to be opposed to what this president is doing.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who initiated the letter, has indicated it was born out of mistrust that the Obama administration will negotiate a deal that would prevent Iran from obtaining the capability to develop nuclear weapons now or ever.

Heller said his goal was for Iran to “completely disarm.”

“I don’t support any treaty that would allow — whether it is five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road — for them to have any nuclear capability, period,” he said.

The Nevadan said such a deal might be achieved through further toughening of economic sanctions against Iran that was believed to have led to negotiations in the first place.

“I think we start (at sanctions) first and make the necessary moves after that, and I don’t know what those are,” he said.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.