Three more Senate Democrats endorse Iran nuclear deal

Three more Democratic senators -- Cory Booker of New Jersey, Mark Warner of Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- joined in support Thursday of an internationally backed nuclear deal with Iran.

That brings the tally of Senate backers to 37, just four short of what President Obama needs to prevent Republicans from passing a resolution of disapproval out of Congress.

On Wednesday, Obama secured the 34 votes necessary to prevent the Senate from overriding his promised veto of any disapproval resolution. Now Obama is within reach of having the votes needed to prevent him from using his veto pen in the first place.

The three senators who endorsed the deal Thursday emphasized that their decisions were not easy and followed weeks of intense deliberation. They also expressed concern about some aspects of the bill.

“On balance, I have determined this international agreement is an improvement over the status quo,” Warner said.

Heitkamp said she believes rejecting the deal is not an option because that would reduce America’s standing and bring Iran closer to developing a nuclear weapon.

“It is not a perfect deal nor is this deal about trust; it’s about making sure we have in place the strongest mechanisms possible to accomplish our goal by holding Iran to the most sweeping concessions about its nuclear program it has ever made.”

Booker, who grappled with what he called the bill’s “significant shortcomings,” said he endorsed the deal because “we have passed a point of no return. … Left with these two choices, I nonetheless believe it is better to support a deeply flawed deal, for the alternative is worse.”

Booker’s announcement comes before a rally in New Jersey planned for Thursday night, organized by the pro-Israel advocacy group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Twitter: @tomanmiller