Iranian Flag, Abyaneh mountain village, Iran. Photo: Nick Taylor.

Because Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, a nuclear deal that does not completely dismantle its nuclear program increases the likelihood of a nuclear bomb ending up in the hands of a terrorist group: so goes the argument in the latest television ad released by Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, a nonprofit whose goal it is to block the Obama administration’s accord with Tehran in Congress.

The video begins with former U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, today the dean of the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies, explaining that the chief “problem” with the nuclear deal is the great probability that it will lead to a significant proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region: in oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in Turkey and in Egypt — two of the most powerful armies in the region.

“Let’s not forget that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world,” he says. “The deal will increase the likelihood of terrorists getting a hold of a nuclear weapon.”

The video concludes with the text, “Congress Should Reject a Bad Deal. We Need a Better Deal.”

Iran is one of three U.S.-designated state sponsors of terrorism, along with Sudan and Syria.

According to the Washington Post, television ads are being aired in 23 states, as lawmakers take their summer recess from Washington DC to their home states. Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, which is closely affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has boasted a $20 million budget for lobbying efforts aimed mostly at swaying Democrats in the House but also the Senate to vote against the deal and, if that happens, to override President Barack Obama’s avowed veto of congressional rejection. This will all happen in late September, shortly before the international community moves to adopt the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the agreement between the P5+1 countries and Iran that was announced on July 14 in Vienna.

While Democratic senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey have publicly announced they will vote against the deal, with all GOP senators voting against the pact it appears the Senate would still need four more Democrats to side against the president. Securing the two-thirds majority needed in both Houses to override the presidential veto could prove much more difficult for opponents of the deal.

Watch the TV ad below: