Republican lawmakers reiterated their total refusal of any nuclear deal with Iran without Congress’ approval, following Iran’s proposal that the United States makes a “political statement” of its commitment to a nuclear accord with Tehran.
About 200 Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden, warning that any agreement with Iran without congressional approval would face the same fate as the deal concluded by the administration of former President Barack Obama.
“We will view any agreement reached in Vienna which is not submitted to the US Senate for ratification as a treaty—including any and all secret agreements made with Iran directly or on the sidelines of official talks—as non-binding,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter dated Feb. 16, 2022.
They added: “As duly elected representatives of American citizens across the United States, sent to Washington to check and balance the executive branch as established by the separation of powers in our Constitution, we feel compelled to remind you that you do not have the power to provide any such ‘guarantee.’”
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Washington had failed to address Iran’s demand for guarantees that it would not abandon the deal, calling for a “political statement” that would stress its commitment in this regard.
The lawmakers warned Biden against ignoring the Congress and repeating the Obama administration’s mistakes in this file.
“Indeed, if you forge an agreement with the Supreme Leader of Iran without formal Congressional approval, it will be temporary and non-binding and will meet the same fate as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” they underlined.
The US lawmakers also pointed to the possibility of removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from the terrorist lists, and pledged to oppose any efforts in this direction.
“We will oppose any attempt to rescind the designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization and will work to expand US sanctions on all government entities, banks, companies and individuals connected to the IRGC,” they stressed.
The Republican lawmakers linked the file of negotiations with Iran and the Ukraine crisis, expressing concern that the United States’ dependence on Russia as a main mediator in the Vienna negotiations had weakened the US position with regards to Moscow’s plans to invade Ukraine.
“If your dependency on the Russians to revive the JCPOA [nuclear deal] is weakening our deterrent posture with the Russians in other areas of the world, the American people deserve to know,” they said, addressing Biden.
