MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — If US Congress does not approve the nuclear deal on Iran, Washington could lose its leadership in the world, the policy director of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), told Sputnik on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a news conference that a possible congressional refusal of the Iran deal would lead to consequences dangerous for the United States, marring relations with its European allies and eroding the dollar's position as the world’s reserve currency.
"Kerry is right, Congressional rejection of the carefully negotiated nuclear accord would be a disaster for US leadership on the world stage. It would be the diplomatic equivalent of the decision to invade the Iraq war and could very well lead to a real war," Jamal Abdi told Sputnik.
"The notion that the international community would ever go along with US-led sanctions again after such a move is absurd… The rest of the world would likely pursue workarounds to inoculate themselves from the sanctions, which would have the effect of weakening and isolating the US," Abdi said.
In the implementation of the nuclear deal on Iran Kerry sees a "historic opportunity to shift the world in a more peaceful direction," Abdi explained.
In mid-July, the P5+1 group of international mediators and Iran reached a historic agreement ensuring the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program. On July 20, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution lifting its previous nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.
The Republican-controlled Congress has until mid-September to approve or reject the Iran nuclear deal. The House of Representatives and the Senate can override a presidential veto by securing a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.
