In his first public comments since announcing last week that he would vote against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal with Iran is known, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D – N.Y.) said that the United States should seek a “better deal” with Iran, The Hill reported yesterday.

“Some say the only answer to this is war. I don’t believe so,” Schumer said during a press conference in Rochester, N.Y.

“I believe we should go back and try to get a better deal,” he added. “The nations of the world should join us in that.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D – Calif.), who also said last week that he would vote to reject the JCPOA, similarly said that there would be a need to renegotiate the JCPOA before it expired to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear threshold state.

Several members of Congress stated that Jacques Audibert, an adviser to French President Francois Hollande, had told them that if Congress votes to reject the JCPOA, there would be international support to renegotiate it and make it stronger.

Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote Monday that a Congressional rejection of the JCPOA will likely not lead to war, and might result in the renegotiation of a stronger deal.

David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, wrote today that if Iran remains defiant about not allowing access to Parchin and not coming clean about the full scope of its past nuclear work, then Congress should pass legislation ensuring that American sanctions are not lifted.

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