Iran’s Zarif, Obama dismiss Republicans’ nuclear deal warning letter

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday dismissed as of “no legal value” a letter from 47 US senators warning that any nuclear deal will require Congressional approval. In an open letter to the Islamic republic, the 47 Republicans, including Senate leaders and several potential 2016 presidential candidates, reminded Iranian leaders that President Barack Obama is in office only until January 2017, and a successor could scrap the agreement if Congress has not approved it.

The world is not just in America.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

The Republicans’ move to stop a nuclear deal with Iran comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress at Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation. In his address, Netanyahu bluntly warned the United States that a deal would pave Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb. The letter appeared to be another bid to influence or even derail the talks underway between Tehran and the P5+1 group of world powers to rein in Iran’s contested nuclear programme. It marked a rare foray by Congress into US foreign policymaking, as negotiating with foreign governments is a responsibility typically handled by the executive branch, not lawmakers.

World Iran nuclear