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 The open letter was signed by all but seven of the Republicans in
the Senate and none of Obama's fellow Democrats, who called it a
"stunt." Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif dismissed it as a
"propaganda ploy" from pressure groups he called afraid of
diplomatic agreement.
In the letter, the senators said Congress plays a role in ratifying
international agreements. Noting Obama will leave office in January
2017, they said any deal not approved by Congress would be merely
"an executive agreement" that could be revoked by Congress.
The White House said the letter was a partisan effort to undermine
Obama's foreign policy by lawmakers who oppose a deal even if the
only alternative is military action.
Obama said his focus now was on seeing if negotiators could get a
deal or not, taking a jab at Senate Republicans for allying
themselves with Iranian hardliners opposed to a deal.
"I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress
wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran. It's an
unusual coalition," Obama told reporters.
 A Western diplomat said the action was "without precedent." "It's
100 percent an American issue, but obviously it could become a real
problem," the diplomat said.
Iran's Zarif blasted the Republicans. "I wish to enlighten the
authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement 'with
the stroke of a pen' ... it will have simply committed a blatant
violation of international law," he said in a statement.
DEMOCRATS NEEDED TO PASS LEGISLATION
The letter seemed to harden partisan lines in the Senate, where
Republicans will need Democrats' support to pass legislation now in
the works to tighten sanctions on Iran or require congressional
approval of a deal.
"Republicans are undermining our commander in chief while empowering
the ayatollahs," said Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid.
The letter, first reported by Bloomberg, was the latest Republican
effort to influence the Iran talks. Many Republicans worry Obama is
so eager for a deal he will sign off on an agreement leaving Iran
able to easily make a nuclear weapon.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Congress
Obama was negotiating a "bad deal" after Republicans invited him to
speak about Iran, without consulting the White House or Democrats.
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World powers and Tehran are trying to reach a framework agreement
this month, and a final deal by June, to curb Iran's nuclear program
in exchange for easing sanctions. Iran denies its civil nuclear
program is a cover for developing weapons.
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Switzerland on March 15
for the next round of talks.
The letter was spearheaded by first-term Senator Tom Cotton, who has
called for "regime change" in Iran, not negotiations. Signers
included all of the Senate's Republican leaders, and possible 2016
presidential contenders Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.
A spokeswoman for Cotton said his office had invited several
Democrats to co-sign but none had done so.
One Senate Republican who did not sign was Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Bob Corker. An aide said Corker is focused on
getting a veto-proof majority to support his legislation, backed by
both Republicans and Democrats, that would require Congress'
authorization of an Iran deal.
(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Julia Edwards, John Irish,
Roberta Rampton and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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