The debate over a possible nuclear deal with Iran took an unexpected turn when in a rare direct congressional intervention into diplomatic negotiations, US Republicans warned Iran against making any deal with President Obama in an open letter. The senators went as far as declaring that any agreement without legislative approval could be reversed by the next president “with the stroke of a pen,” media reported.
Zarif slammed the US senators by saying, “I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfill the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations,” reported Iranian media.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, who also holds Masters and PhD in international relations from the University of Denver, plus two degrees from San Francisco State University, is also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.
Hence, regarding an unusual approach of the US Senators, Zarif added “It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.”
Zarif ultimately dismissed the letter as having "no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy," reported Iranian media.
