Secretary of State John Kerry made clear at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that he was optimistic an Iran deal will get through Congress, Germany's foreign minister said, while the EU's foreign policy chief was also upbeat.
President Barack Obama had agreed on Tuesday that Congress should have the power to review any deal with Iran, bowing to pressure from Republicans and some in his own Democratic party. Negotiations are aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
On Wednesday, Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters, “The view is that, if you reach an agreement on the basis of the framework, then that is a position that you can push through Congress.”
Earlier on Wednesday Kerry had told reporters he was confident Obama would be able to get Congress to approve a deal.
Speaking in Luebeck, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that in the coming weeks it would be necessary to “do a good job” in working on the details for a final deal with Iran and in creating the political conditions that countries involved in the negotiations needed to get consensus for such an accord.
“I'm confident that this will be the case both in the United States and in other countries,” she told reporters, noting that she was sure it would be understood in the United States that the deal was “an agreement in the interests of the security of everybody in the region and also worldwide.”
