Kaine repeats support for Iran deal as Obama nears victory

Sen. Tim Kaine reiterated his support for President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran, on Tuesday, the same day two of his Democratic colleagues announced their support for the deal as well.

Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) became the 32nd and 33rd Democrats in the Senate to join supporters. That leaves 11 Senate Democrats undecided, including Virginia’s Sen. Mark R. Warner. The president is one vote away from blocking a GOP effort to defeat parts of the plan.

“This is not about whether Iran will switch from an adversary to a friend,” Kaine told reporters during a news conference in Richmond, “but it’s whether we can deprive an adversary of a nuclear weapon and potentially open a diplomatic path that will make the United States safer and the world safer, too.”

Kaine was flanked by veterans from the Truman Project who support the accord and produced ads intended to counter a TV campaign featuring veterans who oppose the deal.

Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, first announced his support for the agreement on Aug 4.

A spokeswoman for Warner noted Congress has until Sept. 17 to review the deal.

“Warner has said that this may be one of the most important votes he takes as Senator and he is going to take as much of that time as is necessary to conduct a careful review before he makes a decision,” Rachel S. Cohen said in a statement.

Asked if Virginians should infer anything from Warner’s silence so far, Kaine said it’s an important issue Kaine has been briefed on many times.

“Everybody needs to make their decision in their own time,” he said, adding: “Mark’s on the [Intelligence Committee] so obviously he’s been pretty connected to it, too, but everybody's taking their time because it’s so important. But I don’t think you should infer anything about anybody’s position until they actually declare how they’re going to vote.”