Rowan's Republican U.S. Reps vote against Iran deal

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday rejected a resolution to approve President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran.

U.S. Reps. Richard Hudson, R-8, and Virginia Foxx, R-5, were among the 269 who voted against the resolution to approve the deal. A total of 122 members of the U.S. House — all Democrats — voted for the deal. There were 25 Democrats who voted against the resolution and one Republican who voted “present.”

The vote, however, wouldn’t prevent the nuclear deal from taking effect. At its core, the deal seeks to reduce international economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for the country ending its pursuit of a nuclear weapons program.

After voting against the resolution, Foxx said the United States must continue to stand between Iran and nuclear weapons capability. U.S. members of Congress against the nuclear deal have repeatedly said it wouldn’t prevent Iran from secretly pursuing a nuclear program in the future.

“Unfortunately, the deal presented by President Obama legitimizes Iran’s nuclear achievements and strengthens its extremist regime,” Foxx said in a news release. “This nation cannot risk the continued existence of Israel and the stability of the Middle East in order to win praise for renewed engagement with Iran.”

In a news release after the vote, Hudson said: “when the most brutal, anti-American regime and largest state sponsor of global terror says they want us dead, I believe them which is why I’ll continue to fight to stop the president’s nuclear deal that paves Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb.”