Sen. Lindsey Graham to Netanyahu: Congress Will ‘Follow Your Lead’

By Evan McMurry
Mediate

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday, incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Appropriations Committee Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told the foreign leader Congress would “follow his lead” on a bill to reinforce sanctions on Iran.

“In January of next year, there will be a vote on the Kirk-Menendez bill, bipartisan sanction legislation that says, if Iran walks away from the table, sanctions will be reimposed,” Graham said. “If Iran cheats regarding any deal that we enter to the Iranians, sanctions will be reimposed.”

Graham and a variety of senators have been skeptical, to put it mildly, of the long-haul effort by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to broker a deal with Iran that reverses the country’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions. Iranian sanctions are subject to congressional authorization, meaning the Senate could squelch the deal by refusing to play along.

[h/t JTA]