By Kayvon Afshari and Michael Brooks

Now that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed a bill to give Congress oversight over a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration would be wise to devise a strategy to turn Congressional review to its political advantage. Despite the ‘anti-Iran-deal’ money generously provided by big name donors, there are key vulnerabilities that the administration can exploit to put the pressure on both Democratic and Republican Senators who will be struggling to decide whether to vote up or down on a deal.

Given that the Republicans control 54 out of 100 seats in the Senate, the White House needs a strategy for picking off key Republicans to support a hypothetical comprehensive nuclear deal. While most Republicans are staunchly opposed to the deal that is being carved out, key Senators such as Bob Corker (R-TN), Rand Paul (R-KY), Jeffrey Flake (R-AZ), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Susan Collins (R-ME) may be at play.

To coax the remaining key Republican Senators, the administration needs to relentless argue that this deal is the path to regional and national security, whereas those who reject the deal only offer irresponsibility and more instability. This message can speak to Republicans who are receptive to a realist foreign policy. Essentially, to put pressure on them, the administration needs to articulate the message that: “I’m tough on Iran; your colleagues delusional on Iran.”