Foes Try New Ways To Attack Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal

Capitol Hill opponents of the landmark Iranian nuclear accord are devising a Plan B to ratchet up pressure on Iran as President Barack Obama moves closer to locking up the support needed to implement the deal.

Critics of the agreement in both parties haven’t yet conceded defeat in the congressional battle next month, where they will push to derail the deal.

But as their chances dim, they are preparing to push a rash of new legislation for the fall to increase sanctions on Tehran for its role in supporting terrorist organizations and militant groups active across the Mideast, which could cause Iran to back out of the deal. These politicians also are devising new ways to target the finances of Tehran’s elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

U.S. officials believe the IRGC is the single most dominant entity in the Iranian economy, with vast holdings in real estate and construction, telecommunications and energy. Maintaining, or increasing, sanctions on the unit could stave off a flood of new investment into Iran after the nuclear agreement goes into place.

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“You want to raise the risk calculus for companies considering doing business in Iran,” said Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which advises Congress on Iran sanctions and opposes the nuclear deal. “The IRGC will be a central economic player going forward.”

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