US President “Obama is Responsible for Fate of Nuclear Deal: Zarif
KABUL: (Middle East Press) Barack Obama the US president was ‘responsible’ for making sure that Washington respects a final deal over Iran’s nuclear program even though Congress has been given a say on the accord’s fate, said Iran’s foreign minister Wednesday.
“It is the responsibility of the government of the United States to implement its international agreements. And we will hold the US government, the US president accountable” for the application of the treaties that they sign, Mohammad Javad Zarif told journalists in Lisbon.
He was reacting to a move by the US Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday giving the green light to a bill that would give Congress the right to review a possible final agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue.
According to Zarif, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Iran would study the bill “to see if it invades upon or hinders the capability of the president to carry out the duties that he is going to assume with Iran.”
Global powers reached a framework agreement for a deal with Iran on April 2. They must now resolve a series of technical issues by a June 30 deadline for a final deal, including the steps for lifting sanctions on Iran.
Zarif also said that Russia’s decision to go ahead with the sale of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran is “fully legal” and has no impact on the talks for a nuclear deal with major powers.
