The bill, led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), would give the Senate veto power over any attempt by the Biden administration to reenter the nuclear deal — which was effectively dissolved when former President Donald Trump withdrew from the pact in 2018 — by deeming it a treaty, which mandates approval from the upper chamber.

The GOP proposal comes as top Biden officials are holding indirect talks with the Iranians in Vienna in a bid to revive the Obama-era deal, which Republicans uniformly opposed. GOP lawmakers have introduced several measures aimed at preventing Biden from lifting the biting sanctions that Trump imposed on Tehran as part of his administration’s “maximum pressure” doctrine.

“Any potential agreement with Iran involves risks that affect our entire nation. It is critical to the security of America and to world peace that any deal Biden negotiates with Iran be deemed a treaty requiring approval by the U.S. Senate,” Johnson said.

Republicans have been pushing for Biden to use the Vienna talks to pressure Iran over its non-nuclear activities, too; but Democrats say that approach would be a death knell to efforts to revive the nuclear agreement.

Republicans’ new effort could further complicate the administration’s diplomatic efforts, since it’s aligned in spirit if not letter with a push that successfully afforded Congress veto power over the 2015 U.S.-Iran deal. The Johnson-led bill would subject any future agreement to a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, an even higher hurdle than the 60-vote threshold the 2015 pact was subjected to.

The 2015 nuclear deal is endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Most recently, the U.S. has been monitoring Iranian Navy ships that are making their way across the Atlantic Ocean, potentially for a weapons delivery to Venezuela. The Biden administration is pressuring the Venezuelan and Cuban governments to turn away the Iranian ships, and a senior administration official warned that the U.S. will take “appropriate measures in coordination with our partners to deter the transit or delivery of such weapons.”

A top Iranian military commander said on Thursday that the Iranian naval fleet, including two ships, has entered the Atlantic Ocean.

Habibollah Sayyari, deputy chief of the Army for coordination affairs, said Iran is entitled under international law to have a naval presence in international waters.

“We consider our presence in international waters an inalienable strategic right of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and we will continue on this path with strength,” Rear Admiral Sayyari stated.

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US President Donald Trump is not a role model for kids, says a GOP senator.

“I don’t think that President Trump as a person is a role model for a lot of young people and the kids,” said Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford on CBS’ “Face The Nation” that aired on Sunday. Iran News quotes the report.

“That’s just me personally… I don’t like the way that he tweets, some of the things that he says, his word choices at times are not my word choices. Trump comes across with more New York City swagger than I do from the Midwest and definitely not the way that I’m raising my kids,” he continued. “Saying that, there are policy areas that we agree on and when we agree on those things we work on those things together… But it’s also been a grand challenge to be able to say, for a person of faith, for a person who believes that there is a right way to go on things I- I wish that he did. And he was more of a role model in those areas.”

The lawmaker further praised the former reality TV star for his practice of “religious liberty” in the White House.

“Trump is focused on putting people around him that are very focused on religious liberty, not honoring a particular faith, but honoring any person of any faith to go be able to live and practice that faith and to have respect for that. That’s helpful for any person of faith,” Lankford claimed.

Trump recently became the third president in US history to be impeached and that over-pressuring Ukraine to gain an advantage over a political rival in 2020.

Despite the impeachment in the House, Trump will be acquitted in the GOP-majority Senate.

“No matter what we do, the president is going to say he did nothing wrong,” said Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

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