President Barack Obama secured a legacy-defining foreign policy victory as Senate Democrats clinched the necessary votes to ensure an Iran nuclear agreement survives in Congress.

The decisive 34th commitment came from Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring next year after three decades in the Senate.

“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime,” Mikulski said in a statement she gave to the press. “It’s the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb.”

However, Israel has rallied against the deal, arguing that its conditions would keep Iran perilously close to developing nuclear weapons while enriching a government that has funded anti-U.S. and anti-Israel militants throughout the Middle East.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had personally lobbied U.S. lawmakers to block the pact, will continue fighting the agreement, an Israeli official said.