How does Iran spell relief? K E R R Y.

Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters at the State Department that the lifting of sanctions on Iran is just "days away." The $150 billion windfall for the terrorist state will happen "sooner rather than later," Kerry said.

Meanwhile, there will be a vote in the House next week that would prevent the administration from lifting sanctions on Iranian banks and financial institutions unless the administration can certify that the companies are not financing terrorism or ballistic missiles.

The Hill:

According to reports, the White House has backed away from an initial plan to levy new sanctions in retaliation for the missile tests, which are considered to be likely violations of United Nations sanctions.

“There was an intention — Congress had been notified or the indication was that this action was going to be taken,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said this week. “And then the decision was made, after pushback from Iran, not to go forward.”

Next week, the House will vote to tie the administration’s hands, preventing it from lifting sanctions on Iranian banks unless the U.S. can certify that those banks are not involved in financing terrorism or ballistic missiles.

“The question here is one of pushback, given the violation of the U.N. sanctions,” Royce said, during a markup of the bill on Thursday.

The legislation appears dead on arrival should it reach the White House, however, which has strongly opposed efforts to dismantle or hollow out the nuclear pact.

Congressional Democrats — even those who oppose the deal — have also refused to support the legislation.

“This measure really has no chance of becoming law,” the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), said during the markup this week. Engel is an opponent of the Iran deal, which he has said will only empower the rogue nation. 

“Congress had an opportunity to vote on the deal and we lost,” he added. “I’m afraid we’re following the same path that we’re following with the Affordable Healthcare Act. Congress has spoken and it’s done.”

In addition to the legislation hitting the House floor next week, lawmakers are also eyeing other steps to punish Iran, in a sign that the pressure on the White House isn’t letting up any time soon.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled legislation this week to force the administration’s hand by calling for “expedited” sanctions in the face of Iran’s support of terrorism or use of ballistic missiles.

You can bet the CIA knows which banks are being used as conduits for terrorism financing and developing Iran's missile program. They're mostly the same institutions that were funding the nuclear program. But the administration will stop at nothing to cement the nuclear deal and will do everything to keep Iran from scuttling the agreement.

Iran has Obama over a barrel. Not because of any geopolitical advantage but because the Iran deal is Obama's crowning achievement and a large part of his legacy. The sad fact is, Obama cares more about his place in the history books than he does US national security.