President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist whose 2013 election paved the way to a diplomatic thaw with the West, and his allies have opposed such a parliamentary vote, arguing this would create legal obligations hampering the deal’s implementation.
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Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that parliament should examine the agreement with the United States, Britain, China, France, Russian Federation and Germany.
World powers and Iran struck the landmark deal in July after years of negotiations to address Western concerns that Tehran was developing a nuclear bomb.
“I can tell you unequivocally, this deal is very unsafe”, said Sen.
Khamenei himself has not publicly endorsed or voiced opposition to the Vienna accord, having only praised the work of the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team.
A special committee of parliament, where conservative hardliners close to Khamenei are predominant, have begun reviewing the deal before putting it to a vote.
Some Iranian MPs want the government to submit the deal as a bill for parliament to vote on.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who is running for president, invited his fellow Republican candidate, businessman Donald Trump, to appear with him at the U.S. Capitol next Wednesday at a rally to oppose the Iran nuclear deal. Last week he warned that if parliament votes on the deal its provisions would be legally binding. He said a vote of this nature should be a vote of conscience, and not a vote of party loyalty.
US President Barack Obama earned enough backing in Congress this week to make sure the deal is not blocked by lawmakers.
Because Iran sponsors terrorism in Iraq, Lebanon and throughout the Middle East, it is foolish to remove sanctions up front and give Iran a “cash infusion” they will use to funnel weapons and cash to terrorists. So this issue must be resolved.
Cardin’s move doesn’t affect the ultimate outcome for the global accord to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
“Then we could go on and triple the number of centrifuges to 60,000, keep a 20 per cent level of uranium enrichment and also accelerate our research and development (R&D) activities”, the Supreme Leader added.
In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Cardin said that after lengthy consideration, he had concluded that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated with Iran legitimizes Iran’s nuclear program.
A public relations battle was launched over the agreement, which is to be put to a vote in Congress next week.
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Saudi officials said the king sought a written agreement from Obama stating that the U.S.is “prepared to defend against any attempt that threatens the security” of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a coalition of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
