2nd LD Writethru: Obama has secured Iran nuclear deal in Congress

U.S. President Barack Obama has got enough votes in Congress to keep the Iran nuclear agreement alive, local media reported Wednesday.

Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski said that she will support the Iran deal, giving Obama 34 Senate votes that is enough to uphold any congressional resolution disapproving the agreement.

"No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime. I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb," Mikulski, of Maryland, said in a statement.

"For these reasons, I will vote in favor of this deal," the Senator said.

U.S. lawmakers have until Sept. 17 to vote on the deal with a resolution of disapproval. Many of the lawmakers, especially Republicans, believe that the deal made too many concessions to Iran and it can not stop Iran from building nuclear weapons.

The nuclear agreement was reached in July after extensive negotiations between Iran and the so called "5+1" group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany.

"This deal blocks every way, every pathway that Iran might take in order to develop a nuclear weapon," Obama said last week. The president has vowed to veto any congressional attempt to block the implementation of the agreement. It requires two-thirds approval in both the House and the Senate to override the veto. Endi