“Congress is unlikely to override a promised veto by President Obama if both chambers reject a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear capabilities, according to a Washington Post analysis of where the votes currently stand. When both chambers return from the August recess, all 246 House Republicans are expected to vote against the deal, the analysis found. So far, 12 House Democrats have declared they too are opposed — more than enough to pass a resolution of disapproval through the lower chamber.”

New York Times: “Partisanship has become the pre-eminent scapegoat for American political failure, an all-purpose explanation for Washington’s inability to act. Yet in rare circumstances, it can actually guarantee action. So, notwithstanding an acrimonious debate, polarization makes the United States’ acceptance of the Iran nuclear deal very likely.”

“That is because the mechanism for congressional consideration, agreed on by Republican leaders and the White House, reverses the typical legislative imperative. Instead of requiring an extraordinary majority to act, it requires one to stop action — which means partisanship is all President Obama needs to approve the deal.”

“The three retired U.S. marines who lowered the flag at the American embassy in Havana in 1961 helped raise the Stars and Stripes once again Friday at the seven-story building alongside Havana’s seaside Malecon boulevard,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The U.S. and Cuba officially restored diplomatic ties last month, and the U.S. embassy in Havana opened then. But Friday’s flag raising marks the symbolic start of a new chapter in the two nation’s relations, with flags now flying once again in both countries after 54 years.”

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s administration said there’s no truth to Donald Trump’s assertion that the nation would pay for a wall along the border between the countries, Bloomberg reports.

Said a spokesman: “Of course it’s false. It reflects an enormous ignorance for what Mexico represents, and also the irresponsibility of the candidate who’s saying it.”

President Obama “delivered a detailed broadside to opponents of his crowning foreign-policy achievement, arguing that the diplomatic agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear program presents Congress with a fundamental choice between war and peace,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Obama, in a speech at American University where President John F. Kennedy made a case for confronting nuclear threats with diplomacy, said that whether lawmakers approve or reject the Iran deal next month will determine the future of America, which is still recovering from more than a decade of war in the Middle East.”

William Saletan: “If Republicans win the White House next year, they’ll almost certainly control the entire federal government. Many of them, running for president or aspiring to leadership roles in Congress, are trying to block the nuclear deal with Iran. This would be a good time for these leaders to show that they’re ready for the responsibilities of national security and foreign policy. Instead, they’re showing the opposite. Over the past several days, congressional hearings on the deal have become a spectacle of dishonesty, incomprehension, and inability to cope with the challenges of a multilateral world.”

“Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban, is dead, according to three Afghan officials and two people close to the Taliban,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“His death, if confirmed, raises questions about who will lead the movement that allied with al Qaeda, fought a war with the U.S. and is now divided over whether to pursue an elusive peace deal with Afghanistan’s new government.”

A LA Jewish Journal survey finds that 48% of Jewish Americans support the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration while 28% oppose it and 25% hadn’t heard enough to form an opinion.