Iran Review Act: Partial Fixes, Politics and Poison Pills

SFRC agreement - “A tentative deal has been reached by senators on a bill to apply congressional oversight to a nuclear deal with Iran,” writes Sam Stein in a detailed analysis of the revised bill which is set for markup by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee later today. “It still may face a veto from the president, who has generally opposed efforts to restrict his flexibility when it comes to executing a deal with Iran,” notes Stein.

--Details from the bill: It still requires the president to submit the final agreement to Congress, which would have up to 52 days - with mechanisms for stretching this time - to review the agreement during which the president is prohibited from waiving sanctions.

--Potential effects of the bill: “A bill from the Senate limiting the pace at which the president can apply sanctions relief could be interpreted as a breach of the framework in Tehran, and could complicate the next few weeks of negotiations,” writes Stein. Read the detailed analysis here. http://huff.to/1DEoRxW

--See also: “Senate Panel Deal Paves Way for Vote on Iran Nuclear Bill” by Jonathan Weisman of The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1CKm3KA

House ready to rush it - “If [Sen. Corker] is able to get his agreement out of the Senate, it is my intention to bring it to the floor of the House and move it,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Monday. http://bit.ly/1OaaNOc

Getting a good deal - Reaching a final nuclear deal with Iran won’t be easy, but it’s certainly possible -- if Congress refrains from undermining the sensitive negotiations, write the Center for American Progress’ Vikram Singh, Brian Katulis, Rudy deLeon, Hardin Lang, Lawrence J. Korb, Shlomo Brom and Ken Sofer in an analysis of the essential elements of a final deal.

--“The most constructive role for Congress isn’t as a negotiator, but as an enforcer of a deal. When Congress does act, it must preserve the authorities needed for the United States to implement its side of an agreement; establish strong monitoring, verification, and enforcement mechanisms; and ensure the immediate snapback of sanctions in case of material breach by Iran.” http://ampr.gs/1csHqLw

Russia’s sale - Russia has concluded the sale of an antiaircraft missile system to Iran, potentially complicating the ongoing nuclear negotiations. Some military experts say the system could make potential U.S. military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities more difficult; others argue that the system is well known to both the U.S. and Israel and won’t affect their military plans. LA Times’ Carol Williams and Paul Richter report. http://nyti.ms/1yqNz4M

Irreconcilables - Some critics of the Iran framework want a return to the interim agreement -- the agreement they strongly opposed when it was announced in November 2013. “The one constant: They are opposed to what Obama is doing — whatever it is,” writes Dana Milbank for The Washington Post. http://wapo.st/1PHZKQ5

Quote - “In my personal opinion based on discussions with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu], I think he feels like any deal would be a bad deal,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told the John Fredericks Show on Friday, adding that he thought Netanyahu had no realistic alternative to a deal with Iran. From Buzzfeed. http://bzfd.it/1H3vlaR

Tough diplomacy - “The framework agreement with Iran is American leadership at its best: U.S. interests secured through tough diplomacy instead of nonstrategic calls for another ill-advised war,” writes Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) in The Hill. “Instead of creating further roadblocks for this deal, Congress should support Obama on this critical national security achievement.” http://bit.ly/1IZMEsg

Long road ahead - From all the tweets and fact sheets, it’s clear there differences of opinion between the U.S. and Iran -- and even between Iranian officials -- on sanctions relief. “The lesson is not to leap immediately to conclusions on these negotiations,” writes The Washington Post’s Walter Pincus. “Remember there is still a long way to go before any final deal is reached on what is a complicated subject.” http://wapo.st/1DE80vd

Quick Hits:

--“Lawmakers Who Seem To Have Forgotten Iraq Insist They're Right About Iran,” by Michael McAuliff for Huffington Post. http://huff.to/1I6pmRo

--“A Really Bad Idea: A 'Limited' War with Iran,” by Ted Galen Carpenter in The National Interest. http://bit.ly/1zdkpkF

--“Iran nuclear talks to resume on April 21, Zarif says,” from Reuters. http://reut.rs/1IIgy7u

--“Myths and Facts Regarding the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Regime,” a new State Department fact sheet. http://1.usa.gov/1PI87Ly