US lawmakers insist on final deal without Iranian enrichment
Iran Press TV
Mon Dec 9, 2013 3:42PM GMT
Two US lawmakers who handle intelligence matters say the Obama administration should not accept a long-term deal with Iran that would include uranium enrichment.
"I think the administration has to push for ... a peaceful program without enrichment. I wouldn't begin the process by conceding anything on enrichment," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Schiff serves on the House Select Intelligence Committee.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) also said on the same show that dismantling Iran's enrichment program was a bipartisan goal in Congress.
"I happen to agree with my colleague. If we can have a civilian program without nuclear enrichment, then fine. That's the goal we both share on both sides of the aisle," McCaul said.
The temporary nuclear pact, which was struck between Iran and six major powers, including the US, in Geneva on November 24, has been widely criticized by congressional hawks.
Uranium enrichment was a key sticking point in negotiations. After the agreement was announced, Iranian officials stated that the deal included Iran's right for enrichment. Some US officials, on the other hand, insisted that the accord did not grant Tehran such a right.
President Barack Obama is dispatching two of his top diplomats to Capitol Hill to convince skeptical lawmakers introducing new sanctions against Iran would only undermine the six-month interim agreement.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry will testify before the House Foreign Relations Committee which is filled with Republicans who disapprove of the Geneva accord.
Under Secretary Wendy Sherman will also brief Congressional hawks on Thursday.
Speaking at Brookings Institution's Saban Forum on Saturday, Obama said, 'We can envision a comprehensive agreement that involves extraordinary constraints and verification mechanisms and intrusive inspections but that permits Iran to have a peaceful nuclear program.'
The president, however, said that the interim agreement did not grant Iran the "right to enrich' uranium.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that it will not abandon its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
HJ/HJ
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