DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Iran’s pragmatist government tried yesterday to sell its nuclear agreement with world powers to hardliners at home, just as a US Congressional leader promised to do “everything possible” to sink the deal.
With both Tehran and Washington facing stiff opposition to the accord, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Saudi Arabia in the hope of reassuring leaders there who fear Iran will make mischief in the region.
In Washington, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, was deeply sceptical. “Members of Congress will ask much tougher questions this afternoon when we meet with the president’s team, and because a bad deal threatens the security of the American people, we’re going to do everything possible to stop it,” Boehner said.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz were scheduled to hold briefings for lawmakers in the US Capitol. House and Senate debates and votes to approve or reject the nuclear agreement are expected in September.
Abbas Araqchi, a deputy foreign minister, said Iran would do “anything” to help allies in the Middle East, underlining Tehran’s message that the deal will not change its anti-Western foreign policy. Araqchi, Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator, also told a news conference that any attempt to re-impose sanctions after they expired in 10 years would breach the deal.
So far Riyadh’s response to the nuclear deal has been lukewarm public praise, coupled with private condemnation. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former head of the kingdom’s intelligence services, cautioned that it would allow Iran to “wreak havoc in the region”.
Israel pressed US lawmakers to block the deal, with Ambassador Ron Dermer meeting privately with a group of about 40 House conservatives. Kerry said he would seek to reassure Gulf Arab officials at a meeting in Qatar in the next two weeks that Washington will work with them to resist Iranian influence in the region.
Reuters
