Iranian officials have dismissed the U.S. Senate Foreign Relation Committee’s approval of a bill that would give Congress the ability to approve or disapprove of a nuclear deal. “What the U.S. Senate, Congress and others say is not our problem,” President Hassan Rouhani said on April 15. In a televised speech, he also warned that without an “end to sanctions, there will not be an agreement” with the world’s six major powers.
The “Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015,” coauthored by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) must still be passed in the full Senate and House of Representatives before becoming law. The following are excerpted remarks by Iranian officials.
President Hassan Rouhani
“What the U.S. Senate, Congress and others say is not our problem. We want mutual respect ... We are in talks with the major powers and not with the Congress.”
“If there is no end to sanctions, there will not be an agreement. The end of these negotiations and a signed deal must include a declaration of cancelling the oppressive sanctions on the great nation of Iran.”
Our counterpart is not US Senate or Congress; it's P5+1. They should all know, if there is no end to #sanctions, there will be no #IranDeal.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) April 15, 2015What US Senate, Congress, their hardliners& allies want is not our business. In exchange for engagement, goodwill& respect we seek the same.
— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) April 15, 2015—April 15, 2015 in a televised speech
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Marziyeh Afkham
“That [legislation] is an issue related to their domestic affairs. We are dealing with the American government.”
—April 15, 2015 in a press conference