House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday praised the nuclear deal agreed upon by Iran, the United States and other world powers earlier this week.
According to the Associated Press, Pelosi declared to reporters at her weekly news conference that the agreement lauded by the Obama administration "will have [her] strong support."
"I'm very optimistic about our ability to support the president," Pelosi said of the deal, which would lift international sanctions on Iran while allowing the country to press on with crucial elements of its nuclear work, research, and development.
Pelosi joins Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton in offering support for the Iran deal. After the agreement was announced Tuesday, Clinton deemed it an "important step" in the United States’ push to disable Iran’s nuclear capabilities. She also reportedly told Democratic lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that the agreement is "worthy of support."
President Obama has passionately defended the agreement, insisting Tuesday morning that he will veto any effort by Congress -- which has authority to review the deal -- to reject it.
At a press conference Wednesday during which he scolded a CBS News reporter for asking about Americans held hostage in Iran, Obama claimed that "this deal is our best means of ensuring Iran does not get a nuclear weapon."
Unlike Pelosi, several congressional Democrats have expressed concerns about the deal.