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 Three hundred and fifty-four members - four-fifths - of the U.S.
House of Representatives signed the letter sent to Kerry on
Wednesday night, expressing concerns that an agreement on Iran's
nuclear program might not require sufficiently strict inspections of
its nuclear facilities.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sept. 5 that Iran had failed to
address concerns about suspected atomic bomb research by an agreed
deadline.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Barack
Obama on Wednesday that he must make sure any final nuclear deal
with Iran does not leave it at the "threshold" of being able to
develop nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu has been attempting to shift the global spotlight away
from Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and back to Iran,
warning that a nuclear-armed Tehran would pose a far greater threat
than the militant Islamists.
On Thursday, Netanyahu voiced doubts that his talks with Obama would
lead to a tougher U.S. line.
"Both of us want to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
But I say that is not enough. You want to prevent it from (being
able to) develop a nuclear weapon in a short term, of weeks or
months. What is called breakout time," Netanyahu said in an
interview with Israel's Channel 10 television.
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Asked whether he was "encouraged" about the issue of preventing Iran
from achieving break-out capability after meeting Obama, Netanyahu
answered: "I cannot say that. I can only say that I expressed the
things important to Israel and Israel's security."
Although Israel backs Obama's efforts to forge a coalition to
confront Islamic State fighters, some Israelis fear world powers
could go easy on Shi'ite Muslim Iran's nuclear program so it will
help in the fight against the Sunni Islamists.
Iran and six world powers are expected to meet again for nuclear
talks in Europe in the next two weeks, Iranian and Western officials
said.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Additional reporting by Lou
Charbonneau at the United Nations, Matt Spetalnick in Washington and
Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Editing by Andrew Hay and Cynthia
Osterman)
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