Leading Jewish lawmaker Wasserman Schultz backs Iran deal

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee head, has announced her support for the Iran nuke deal.

Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish lawmaker from Florida, says the decision to endorse the agreement was the most difficult one she has made in nearly 23 years in elected office.

She writes in The Miami Herald that while she has concerns about the agreement, the deal “provides the best chance to ensure” security for the US, Israel and other allies.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz speaks onstage at the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit, Oct. 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (photo credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for FORTUNE/via JTA)

“This agreement is not perfect. But I join many in the belief that with complex, multilateral, nuclear non-proliferation negotiations with inherent geopolitical implications for the entire world, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ deal,” she writes.

“Under the agreement Iran will not be able to produce a nuclear bomb for at least 10-15 years,” she says, while the US and its allies “will be able to more closely concentrate on stopping Iran’s terrorist activity.”

The White House has clinched the necessary Senate votes to ensure that Congress will uphold the deal even if US President Barack Obama ends up having to veto a disapproval resolution set for a vote in the week ahead.

— with AP