Former Texas governor Rick Perry released a statement Thursday citing his "concern" that President Barack Obama may not seek congressional approval for the ongoing nuclear weapons negotiations with Iran.
"The robust debate between Congress and President Obama over the Iran nuclear deal is important and necessary as part of our democratic system of checks and balances," said Perry in the statement. "While the president shapes and directs American foreign policy, the Senate deserves a say on major arms control agreements - especially one of this consequence dealing with Iran's nuclear weapons program. I am increasingly concerned that President Obama will cut out Congress and take his Iran agreement to the UN Security Council."
Perry called on the president to assure Americans the "nonbinding" agreement the Iranians won't "transform" into international law through the UN." That idea has been bandied about in some liberal legal circles, even getting an airing out in a recent article in the New York Times:
“The U.N. nature of it adds a level of legality that makes it different from just an agreement between the United States and Iran,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, an Iran expert at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies. “A Security Council resolution will give it standing that makes it even more concrete and harder for a successor to simply undo.”
Perry says the president should reject this line of thinking. "If he wants a binding deal, President Obama should seek the approval of the United States Senate, not the United Nations," said the Texas Republican.
Perry left the governorship in January after 14 years, the longest tenure in Texas history, and may be considering a run for president in 2016. Perry's first White House bid in 2012 ended with his withdrawal from the race before the South Carolina primary.