The Obama administration negotiated a nuclear agreement with Iran in order to focus on Washington's numerous conflicts and expand its hegemony in other regions of the world, says a journalist and anti-war activist in Virginia.

�The moment that the US government and the corporations that control it, feel that they can take on Iran and neutralize it as a force in the Middle East and their ultimate goal to gain control and hegemony over the region that has two-thirds of the world�s oil reserves, they will do it,� said Phil Wilayto, an editor at the Virginia Defender newspaper.

The White House is concerned that it will not be able to challenge Iran militarily due to the various conflicts it is constrained by in Europe, Asia and Africa, so the nuclear accord with Tehran appears like the best alternative, Wilayto told Press TV on Wednesday.

�There�s no lessening of hostility on Washington�s part; it�s just that they�re so spread out in wars�that the more centrist forces are worried that they could not take on a military confrontation with Iran and that [nuclear deal] seems to be only alternative,� he added.

Wilayto said Western economic penalties against Iran were ineffective because the Islamic Republic �refuses to buckle under the pressure of sanctions no matter how heavy they may be.�

On Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers in the US Senate blocked legislation for the second time in a week meant to kill the Iran nuclear deal.

As was expected, the Republicans failed once again Tuesday to gain the 60 votes needed for the resolution of disapproval.

Tehran and the P5+1 - the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France, and Germany - finalized the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after months of tough negotiations.

Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran�s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

By Press TV