Republicans send a stern message to Tehran and the White House

A group of 47 Republican senators put their signatures on the Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, warning the Iranian government that the possible deal signed by President Obama with Tehran will not last when President Obama leaves the White House in 2017.

The effort to educate seniors in the Iranian government was organized by Senator Tom Cotton and was signed by all Republicans in the Senate, including the likely 2016 presidential nominees Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. The letter stipulates the specificities of the American political system, explaining to the Iranian government that although the U.S. President negotiates any international agreement, it is in the U.S. Congress which has the power over the bill, choosing whether to ratify it or not.

Republicans who are known for their hardcore position on the nuclear negotiations with Iran, have rallied their support for Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who spoke to the joint session of Congress last week, detailing his position as to why the potential deal with Iran is bad. It is also the major point of their pressure on the Obama administration before the next presidential election cycle kicks off. The letter is an explicit message to the President that Republicans are united against the unfavorable deal with Tehran and will do what it takes to knock it down.

Also in the letter, the signatories underline the fact that although the President serves a four-year term and is limited in number of times for re-election, senators don’t have those limitation, signaling that if Republican senators retain their seats in the future, the deal is bound to fail. Republicans, who now control both chambers of the legislative body, hope that the Iranians will take note of the position of the majority and think twice before committing Iran to something that will not commit the opposite side.

While positions of individual legislators vary, it is their common understanding that administration has to come to a certain deal with Tehran to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.