With the Iran nuclear deal now sure to emerge from a congressional vote unscathed, a new group opposing the deal will work to put measures preventing state tax dollars from being given to companies that work with Iran on the ballot in several states next year.

Defund Iran, a 501(c)(4), will work to get such initiatives on the ballot to change state statutes or amend the state constitution in Missouri, Colorado, Ohio, Arizona, Florida, and other states.

Though the deal would lift sanctions on Iran, several states have laws in effect that prevent state tax money from going to business entities that work with any state sponsors of terror, including Iran. Defund Iran is specifically concerned about a paragraph in the deal that states:

“If a law at the state or local level in the United States is preventing the implementation of the sanctions lifting . . . the United States will take appropriate steps, taking into account all available authorities, with a view to achieving such implementation.”

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The group’s co-chair, Sarah Steelman, tells National Review that the provision is “outrageous and dangerous” and “illogical.” She says she worries about how the federal government would enforce such a rule, speculating that the Justice Department could sue the states to change their policies.

#share#The goal is to give voters who oppose the Iran deal a “way to voice their concern and to actually do something about it by being able to vote” on the ballot measures, Steelman says.

“Yes, we want to continue to make sure our tax dollars aren’t helping terrorism, but two, we are very concerned about our national security and see this agreement as a huge risk to our national security,” she adds.

#related#A mid-August poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the group found 81 percent of Republicans, 60 percent of Democrats, and 70 percent of independents would back such a ballot measure.

The honorary national co-chairs of the effort are Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel and former Colorado House minority leader Mark Waller, both Iraq War veterans and the group also announced co-chairs in Arizona and Florida, the states where it will begin its efforts.

Other states the group hopes to target, Steelman says, are Oklahoma, Michigan, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska.

— Alexis Levinson is the senior political reporter for National Review.