Senator Brian Schatz, a liberal and Jewish-born lawmaker from Hawaii, said on Monday he backed the nuclear deal reached between world powers and Iran, becoming the 16th senator to do so.

Schatz had been expected to come down in favor of the deal. But his decision was noteworthy because it came just a few days after another Jewish senator, Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, announced his opposition to the Iran agreement, Reuters reported.

On July 14, Iran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany) finalized the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna.

On July 20, the UN Security Council turned the JCPOA into international law by endorsing a resolution, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.