By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A group of 33 Republican Senators told U.S. President Joe Biden Monday that they will work to stop any Iranian nuclear deal being implemented if the government does not permit Congress to vote and review its terms.

Ted Cruz is a staunch opponent to the 2015 nuclear agreement. Senators led by Ted Cruz informed Biden Monday in a written letter that they will use all the options and leverage to make sure that the United States laws that govern any future accord with Iran are followed.

Talks between Iran, the United States and Vienna on Tuesday regarding the renewal or suspension of the 2015 agreement will resume. Oil prices have fallen due to speculation about a potential agreement. Markets anticipate that the possibility of lifting sanctions against Iran’s oil sales will boost global supply.

Biden’s administration is trying to revive the agreement, which removed sanctions from Tehran in return for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities. This deal was reneged upon by former President Donald Trump in 2018.

Iran broke many nuclear restrictions in the agreement and continued pushing beyond these limits.

Biden was informed by Cruz and senior Republican senators that he would not be able to implement any new agreement if he didn’t meet his statutory obligations for congressional oversight of revisions or modifications to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

While they didn’t give any specifics about their plans for the future, Republicans have employed a range of strategies to slow down legislation and put restrictions on Biden’s nominations.

The 50-50 Senate is controlled by Democrats only through a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Kamala Hariri, however they may lose control of both the Senate and House of Representatives during midterm elections in the latter part of this year.

They argued that any Iran-related nuclear agreement would require two thirds consent.

A deal which is not ratified by the Senate will “likely” be reneged on in the first days of the next presidency, they said. They were anticipating that a Republican win would occur in the 2024 election.

In addition, they noted that a 2015 law passed before completion of the initial nuclear deal requires that any new “agreement” related to Iran’s nuclear program to be transmitted to Congress for a 60-day review period during which Congress could pass a joint resolution of disapproval that would essentially prevent the deal from going into effect.

These mandates will be activated by Iran’s recent progress in developing nuclear weapons. This would need new supervision measures.