Iran moves met with praise, criticism

WASHINGTON - News over the weekend that Iran had dismantled key components of its nuclear program and released five American prisoners emboldened some local supporters of President Obama's diplomatic efforts, though others urged caution and critics continued to question the international nuclear accord that led to those steps.

The reactions came as the developments offered new context for a deal that has anguished many local officials, brought fierce resistance from some and stirred clashes in the early stages of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race.

Senators who voted for the international accord last year gave measured statements calling for continued vigilance and praising new sanctions imposed in response to Iran's recent ballistic missile tests.

The U.S. "must continue to hold Iran accountable for its behavior," said a release from Sen. Robert Casey Jr. (D., Pa.), who supported the deal after agonizing deliberations.

Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.), who was similarly torn, lauded the agreement for slowing Iran's nuclear ambitions for 10 to 15 years, but said it also "means that our responsibility to deter Iran's dangerous actions is both more urgent and significantly more difficult."

Coons - and the deal's critics - worried that implementation came with the release of roughly $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets, potentially boosting Tehran's support of terrorism.

The deal between the U.S., Iran, and five world powers drew fierce opposition from Republicans when it came up for a vote last year, and split local Democrats, who faced intense pressure from both sides.

Iran's "support for terrorism and other threats against the United States, our interests, and our allies remain unchanged," said a release from Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.).

Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) said "the Obama administration has chosen to jeopardize the security of the United States, and our allies around the world, by lifting sanctions."

He has vigorously attacked the deal, and has made his opposition a key theme of his reelection campaign.

The three Democrats running to challenge him, Joe Sestak, Katie McGinty, and Braddock Mayor John Fetterman hailed the developments as a sign of progress, and the wisdom of negotiations.

Obama imposed the new missile sanctions (which many senators had urged) even as he announced implementation of the separate nuclear deal.

He said Iran had shipped out 98 percent of its enriched uranium - leaving it with too little to create a nuclear bomb - removed two-thirds of its centrifuges and filled a nuclear reactor with concrete, while accepting international inspectors.

Iran is now a year away from building a nuclear bomb, instead of the two-to-three months before deal, Obama said in a Sunday morning address.

"We have now cut off every single path that Iran could have used to build a bomb," he said. "We've achieved this historic progress through diplomacy, without resorting to another war in the Middle East."

And after the deal was finished, Obama said, talks over five American prisoners accelerated.

The U.S. also released seven Iranians held for sanctions violations and agreed to make a payment to settle a long-running financial dispute.

The renewed relations that resulted also bolstered the diplomatic channels that enabled the quick release last week of U.S. sailors who had drifted into Iranian waters, Obama said.

Debate over the deal has provided one of the early contrasts in Pennsylvania's Senate race.

Toomey's potential rivals were quick to praise the benefits of the accord.

"We have advanced ours and Israel's security through tough diplomacy and hard-nosed negotiations," said a statement from Sestak, a former admiral and Clinton administration national security adviser. The result, he added, came "with the military option always on the table - but at the back of the table."

McGinty, Gov. Wolf's former chief-of-staff, called the weekend's steps "important and positive developments" for U.S. security.

She and Sestak, like Toomey, had both called for Obama to impose new sanctions for Iran's ballistic missile tests.

Fetterman said the "positive steps" show "it's better to have people with good judgment rationally engaging adversaries directly through diplomacy."

"There are too many saber-rattling 'experts' out there screwing it up and making the situation more hostile," said a Fetterman statement.

He said earlier this month he supported Obama's decision not to impose missile sanctions at that time, trusting that the president made the call based on information not available to the public.

On Sunday, administration officials told reporters they delayed the penalties so as not to complicate talks over American prisoners.

jtamari@phillynews.com

@JonathanTamari

www.philly.com/capitolinq