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         Congress Asks Obama for Greater Role in Any Iran Nuclear Deal

   by Cindy Saine

   A top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives says a bipartisan
   group of hundreds of lawmakers is sending a letter to President Barack
   Obama requesting increased congressional weight in the ongoing talks to
   broker a nuclear deal with Iran.

   A draft of the letter shared with VOA Thursday emphasizes that that
   permanent sanctions relief, which Iran has repeatedly requested during
   the Geneva negotiations, would require new legislation.

   "In reviewing such an agreement, Congress must be convinced that its
   terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb," the lawmakers wrote, adding
   that "Iran's role in fomenting instability in the region ...
   demonstrates the risks of negotiating with a partner we cannot trust."

   Congressman [1]Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign
   Affairs Committee, said 360 members of the Republican-led legislature
   signed the letter.

   "It's truly a very bipartisan letter expressing Congress's strong
   feelings about things that need to be in the agreement," Engel said
   during a House hearing on Iran. "Congress really needs to play a very
   active and vital role in this whole process, and any attempts to
   sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle [by both
   Democrats and Republicans]."

   The West has accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran insists
   its nuclear activity is solely for peaceful, civilian purposes such as
   medical research and generating power.

   A group of 47 Republican senators last week sent a letter to Iranian
   leaders warning that any potential deal could be reversed after Obama
   leaves office.

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been in Switzerland this week,
   meeting with Iranian counterpart as the United States and its partner
   countries in the P5+1 attempt to reach an outline of an agreement
   before the end of this month.

   Victoria Macchi contributed to this report

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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/congress-asks-obama-for-greater-role-
   in-any-nuclear-deal/2687024.html

References

   1. http://democrats.foreignaffairs.house.gov/press_display.asp?id=1437
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/congress-asks-obama-for-greater-role-in-any-nuclear-deal/2687024.html