The Republican-led House passed legislation Wednesday that would increase Congress’ oversight of the nuclear deal with Iran.
The Associated Press reported the bill’s passage, which came hours after the Iranian military captured two small Navy craft and their crew of 10 American sailors. Iran has accused the sailors of breaching their territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
House lawmakers voted to approve the bill 191-106, less than a week before sanctions on Iran are set to lift with the verification of the nuclear deal. Iran is poised to receive $100 billion in sanctions relief.
President Obama plans to veto the bill if it reaches his desk, the White House has said, arguing that the legislation could upend the nuclear deal.
In the wake of the sailors’ detention Tuesday, Republicans argued that the incident provides more evidence that the United States cannot trust Iran. While Obama cited the nuclear deal as an accomplishment during his State of the Union address to the nation Tuesday night, he neglected to mention the Iranian military’s arrest of the U.S. naval personnel.
"Ten American sailors have been taken into custody in Iran," Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), a former prisoner of war, said in a statement following the speech. "But President Obama completely omitted this latest example of Iran’s provocative behavior so as not to interfere with his delusional talking points about his dangerous nuclear deal with Iran."
Iran has violated United Nations sanctions with ballistic missile tests in the wake of the agreement, brokered in July.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, insisted in a statement that the implementation of the nuclear deal be "contingent" on the release of the sailors and other U.S. citizens held prisoner in Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps held then 10 sailors--nine male, one female--overnight into Wednesday, releasing them in the morning hours. The U.S. Navy confirmed the sailors’ release and said that it would investigate the circumstances surrounding their detention.
Since, Iran state media have released images and video showing the sailors in captivity. The pictures also appear to show Iranian personnel seizing the crew’s weapons and equipment and viewing their documents.