Shamkhani Responds to Senators’ Letter to Biden on JCPOA
A day after a number of Republican senators warned about the necessity of Senate approval for Washington’s return to the JCPOA, Iran’s National Security Council Secretary posted on Twitter: “There is no necessary consensus in this country to make political decisions in the path of advancing Vienna negotiations.”
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, wrote on Wednesday, February 9, in this Twitter message: “The US government cannot pay the cost of its internal differences by undermining the legal rights of the Iranian nation.”
Shamkhani did not provide further explanation on this matter, but it appears to refer to a letter that 33 Republican senators sent to the US President yesterday, warning that if Washington’s return to the JCPOA deal is not subject to Senate vote, they will use their powers to prevent its revival.
The letter stated that if the Biden administration does not allow the Senate to examine the conditions for America’s return to the agreement, they will use “all available options and leverage” to ensure that the Biden administration abides by US law in this regard.
However, the letter provided no details about senators’ possible plans to counter the implementation of a potential new nuclear agreement with Iran.
Indirect negotiations between Iran and the US in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the West, known as the JCPOA, resumed on Tuesday.
Iran has so far refrained from direct negotiations with the United States to revive the JCPOA, and talks between representatives of the two countries in Vienna are conducted indirectly through representatives of Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union.
