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U.S. legislators’ Iran warning sparks criticism

10 March 2015 19:30 (UTC+04:00)
U.S. legislators’ Iran warning sparks criticism

By Sara Rajabova

The U.S. Congress members’ letter to Iran warning the Islamic Republic that a nuclear deal with incumbent U.S. president could last until termination of his duties has sparked strong criticism on the part of the U.S. administration, as well as the Iranian government.

Officials of both governments blamed the U.S. senators for attempting to undermine ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.

In an open letter to Iran on March 9, 47 Republican senators warned Tehran that any nuclear deal with President Barack Obama could last only as long as he is in office. They argued that any agreement between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program would need to be approved by the U.S. Congress.

President Barack Obama has accused the senators to hold the same position as Iran’s hardliners over the nuclear deal.

“I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of the Congress wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition,” Obama said.

Obama said the United States will implement Iran nuclear deal if such a deal is reached during the ongoing negotiations.

Though it was expected that the Congress’ pressure on Iran would increase after Republican take the majority, it was however hard to envision that some lawmakers would oppose giving peace a chance.

The White House said the letter was a partisan effort to undermine Obama's foreign policy by lawmakers who oppose a deal even when the only alternative is military action.

Joe Biden, U.S. vice president considered Republican’s attempts to derail diplomatic efforts on Iran's nuclear program as a "dangerous mistake" and warned about the likelihood of a military solution, RIA Novosti reported.

Republicans’ warning to Iran came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s infamous speech in the Congress on March 3 that urged the United States not to ink any deal, arguing such an agreement could "pave Iran's path to the bomb" rather than block it.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister in turn called the letter by the Republican senators, a publicity stunt without any legal value aimed to undermine the P5+1 group’s efforts on a nuclear agreement with Iran. He said the letter has “no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.”

Meanwhile, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State will meet with Iran’s foreign policy head Zarif in Switzerland on March 15 as part of the P5+1 talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. Department of State announced on March 9.

The P5+1 group, which is comprised of the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, finished last round of negotiations with Tehran on March in the Swiss town of Montreux.

The Iran-P5+1 negotiations have taken place since November, 2013 and aim to ensure the peaceful character of Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting the sanctions imposed on the country. During talks in Vienna last November, the negotiations lead to extending the deadline for reaching a final agreement to July 2015.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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