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 The letter from Democratic senators and one independent, was
identical to one sent to Obama earlier this week by the House of
Representatives, asking that he insist on a final agreement in which
Iran would not be able to build or buy a nuclear weapon.
The House letter was signed by 395 of the 435 members of the chamber
and was sent as Iran and six world powers met to persuade Iran to
scale back its contested nuclear activities.
The meeting in Vienna was the second in a series that the six
nations — United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and UK — hope will produce a verifiable settlement, ensuring that Iran's
nuclear program is oriented to peaceful purposes only.
The 23 senators said they embraced Obama's two-track approach
twinning sanctions against Tehran with negotiations, but urged
strict procedures of transparency and verification to ensure Iran
does not obtain a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. Congress has long taken a harder line on Iran than the
White House, but Saturday's letter was an indication of how
sensitive the issue is, even among members of the same party.
Many in this group of senators, including Carl Levin, whose office
released Saturday's letter, did not sign a letter sent earlier this
week from 83 of their colleagues.
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That letter, spearheaded by Democrat Robert Menendez, took a more
aggressive stance, urging Obama to insist that any final agreement
state that Iran "has no inherent right to enrichment under the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
That would be a non-starter for Iran, which cites a right under the
NPT to produce nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
Both the U.S. and Iranian delegations — the two pivotal players in
the negotiations — face intense pressure from hawkish critics back
home.
(Writing by Doina Chiacu; editing by Gunna Dickson)
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