WASHINGTON — Virginia Sen. Mark Warner says he too supports the Iran nuclear deal, calling it an imperfect agreement but one that offers a first step toward preventing the Middle Eastern nation from developing a nuclear weapon.
Warner’s announcement comes a day after Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulksi threw her support behind the measure, and provided President Barack Obama with enough votes to sustain a veto if a measure rejecting the deal should pass the Congress. Both Warner and Mikulski are Democrats.
“The choice I ultimately had to make was between accepting an imperfect deal, or facing the serious ramifications if Congress rejected a deal that has the support of the rest of the world,” Warner said in a statement.
He said he would support “efforts to shore-up its weaker points” and that he would like the deal to clarify that Congress could still chose to sanction Iran for other activities such as its “support for terrorism.”
“This agreement is just the beginning, and not the end, of our combined international efforts to keep Iran free of nuclear weapons,” the statement reads.
Tim Kaine, Virginia’s junior senator, has previously come out in favor of the deal.
