The U.N. Security Council on Monday backed Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers but the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards attacked the resolution, underlining powerful opposition to the deal. U.S. President Barack Obama, who also faces domestic political opposition to the agreement, hailed the United Nations endorsement, saying it showed last week's accord commanded broad international support as the best way of ensuring Iran never gets nuclear weapons. The European Union also approved the deal, which curbs Iran's nuclear program in return for easing economic sanctions, while Germany rapidly moved to revive its once close trading relationship with Tehran. EU foreign ministers, inspired by the diplomacy that led to the nuclear pact, agreed to try and involve more countries in restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. At the United Nations, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that was negotiated as part of the agreement reached in Vienna between Iran and the six powers. In return for lifting the U.S., EU and U.N. sanctions that have crippled its economy, Iran must accept long-term limits on the nuclear program that the West suspected was aimed at creating an atomic bomb, but which Tehran says is peaceful. The White House said several cabinet members would give two classified briefings to lawmakers in Congress on Wednesday and it welcomed a letter signed by 60 national security experts approving the deal. While the Democratic Party leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, wrote to colleagues backing the nuclear agreement, congressional Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, railed against the U.N. vote. Several called it an "affront to the American people" because it took place before the end of the congressional review period. Congress has 60 days to decide whether to approve or reject the deal. The agreement also faces opposition in some Middle East states, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israel warned U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on his visit to Israel on Monday that it feared the pact would translate into more money for Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militia group, and others hostile to Israel. Even before the Council passed the resolution in New York, top Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Ali Jafari denounced it for interfering with Iran's military operations and crossing "red lines" set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We will never accept it," he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. Iranian hardliners are worried that U.N. inspectors may gain some access to sensitive military sites under the resolution, which becomes international law. The country's senior nuclear negotiator, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, dismissed critics' concerns and called the resolution an "unprecedented achievement in Iran's history". The deal must be approved by Iran's National Security Council and later by Khamenei. Parliament's role is not clear.
