The new issue of New York Daily News features Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on the cover, accusing them and their “traitor” GOP colleagues of attempting to undermine President Barack Obama’s nuclear talks with Iran.
On Monday, forty-seven Senate Republicans sent an open letter to the Iranian government warning that any nuclear deal would not be constitutionally binding, threatening that a future President or Congress could “revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen.”
“We will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by the Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei," the letter reads.
“The next President could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms."
In response, President Obama told reporters Monday, “It’s somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran.”
“It’s an unusual coalition,” he added.
Vice President Joe Biden, who also serves as the President of the Senate, chimed in by describing the letter as “beneath the dignity of an institution I revere.”
"The letter sent on March 9th by forty-seven Republican Senators to the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressly designed to undercut a sitting President in the midst of sensitive international negotiations, is beneath the dignity of an institution I revere," Biden said.
"In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which Senators wrote directly to advise another country -- much less a longtime foreign adversary -- that the President does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them.
“This letter sends a highly misleading signal to friend and foe alike that that our Commander-in-Chief cannot deliver on America’s commitments -- a message that is as false as it is dangerous.”
He went on to say, "The decision to undercut our President and circumvent our constitutional system offends me as a matter of principle. As a matter of policy, the letter and its authors have also offered no viable alternative to the diplomatic resolution with Iran that their letter seeks to undermine.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif dismissed the letter on Monday as a mere “propaganda ploy” carried out by a "political pressure group" that "considers peace as an existential threat," reports Tasnim News Agency.
“In our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy,” he said.
“It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history. This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content.”
The chief nuclear negotiator added,
“I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with ‘the stroke of a pen,’ as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.”
Sen. Cotton, who spearheaded the open letter to Iran, responded to President Obama and accusations of “sabotage":
“We’re simply saying that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," said Cotton, "and Iran’s leaders, whom according to many experts don’t understand America’s constitutional system, need to know that a deal not approved by Congress won’t be accepted by Congress, now or in the future.”
Watch the interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper below.