Iran President Dismisses Congress Pressure Over Nuke Deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed pressure from the U.S. Congress over a preliminary deal on the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program, saying that Tehran is dealing with world powers — not American lawmakers.

In a speech to tens of thousands of Iranians in the northern city of Rasht, Rouhani said his nation is pursuing a “dignified” agreement with the six-member group, which includes the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

Rouhani’s remarks were an apparent reaction to developments Tuesday in Washington, where President Barack Obama bowed to pressure from Republicans and Democrats and agreed to sign compromise legislation empowering Congress to reject a final nuclear deal with Iran.

“Our partner is not the U.S. Congress or the Senate, our partner is a group called ‘5+1,’” Rouhani said, referring to the six world powers — the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany.

Rouhani reiterated his stance expressed last week that Tehran will not sign on to any final deal unless all economic sanctions are completely lifted.

“If there is no end to sanctions, there will be no deal,” Rouhani said.

This article appeared in print on page 2 of the April 16th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.