In Philadelphia, Kerry seeks support for Iran nuclear deal

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- President Obama appears to have won the fight over the Iran nuclear deal. The White House secured enough pledged votes to protect the agreement in Congress on Wednesday, and Secretary of State John Kerry was in Philadelphia to talk about why he believes that's a good thing.

In his nationally televised address the secretary of state said, "Under our plan there will be 24/7 monitoring of Iran's key nuclear facilities."

Even as Kerry continued pushing the nuclear deal with Iran, he knew the Obama White House had just secured enough U.S. Senate votes to make the accord veto proof, despite the bitter opposition of some democrats and the entire republican majority.

The announcements of guarded support by Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Chris Coons of Delaware, and this morning Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, sealed the 34 senate votes need to block a republican resolution disapproving the agreement.

Secretary Kerry and the president will continue to press their line that this is the best deal they could get for now with Iran - a pariah nation in the eyes of so many for so long.

"Without this agreement Iran could continue expanding its stockpile of enriched uranium, which is now more than 12,000 kilograms - enough if further enriched for multiple bombs," Kerry said.

Critics of the accord were front and center to blast the Iran nuclear deal, with its survival now insured, some were mincing no words in going after the president and the secretary of state.

David Edman from Aipac and Jewish Federation says, "They're lying. They say that we have an unprecedented inspections regime. Well, it's just come out that at the Parchin military base we don't have any access."

And Steve Feldman of the Zionist Organization of America says, "The deal leaves the door open for all of those scenarios of funding terrorism, of conventional weapons that can harm us, and nuclear weapon 15 years when it sun sets."

This is a major foreign policy victory for President Obama, which is bound to become one more divisive issue in the already bitter political battle to see who will succeed him.