WASHINGTON: Two US senators who wrote a tough sanctions bill against Iran said yesterday they would work with other members of Congress to push for action against Tehran if a potential deal does not dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme.
New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Illinois Republican Mark Kirk said a “good deal” would require strict limits on nuclear-related research, development and procurement and a robust inspection regime for decades in Iran.
“If a potential deal does not achieve these goals, we will work with our colleagues in Congress to act decisively, as we have in the past,” the two senators said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Iran said yesterday it did not let a UN atomic agency official into the country as part of a team investigating its disputed nuclear activities because of the person’s nationality.
Ambassador Reza Najafi declined to say what country the IAEA official came from. But other diplomats saidthe individual, who five times has been denied entry into Iran, is American and a nuclear weapons expert.
“We decided not to issue a visa for that specific staff of a certain nationality,” Najafi said, adding this had nothing to do with Iran’s work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “This is because of the nationality.”
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic ties since shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the US-backed shah.
But tensions have eased over the last year and the two countries are now trying to negotiate an end to their dispute over nuclear programme by a November 24 deadline.Reuters
