Image by Getty Images

Image by Getty Images

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he had filed a “cloture” motion to begin the process of formally ending debate. Both Democrats and Republicans said they expected the Iran Nuclear Review Act would pass with strong support in the vote scheduled for Thursday.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“If we get to the final vote without additional blowups between now and then, I think it’s going to be overwhelmingly supportive,” Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and author of the bill, told reporters at the Capitol.

Corker made a presentation to his fellow Republican senators at a closed-door lunch meeting on Tuesday, urging them to support the measure without major changes.

A dispute among Republican senators over amendments last week had left Senate and foreign relations committee leaders scrambling for a way to move forward with the legislation.

At least 67 amendments to the bill had been offered by Tuesday, all by Republicans, Many were considered “poison pills,” which would have killed the bill by alienating too many Democrats for it to pass or, if it did pass, provoking a veto by Democratic President Barack Obama.

One proposed amendment, from Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican presidential candidate, would have required certification that Iran’s leaders have publicly accepted Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Opponents said that amendment would have made it impossible for international negotiators to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran. Diplomats from Iran, the United States and five other world powers have set a June 30 deadline for reaching a final pact in which Tehran will curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of crippling economic sanctions.

Negotiators for the European Union and Iran will resume talks on the deal on May 12 in Vienna, joined by officials from six world powers on May 15, the EU said on Tuesday.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount