WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Cotton snapped back Tuesday at Vice President Joe Biden for denouncing his letter to Iran’s leaders that warned a nuclear deal could easily be undone by Congress.
“Joe Biden — as Barack Obama’s own secretary of defense has said — has been wrong about nearly every major foreign-policy and national-security decision in the last 40 years,” Cotton said on MSNBC in a reference to former Secretary Robert Gates, who ripped Biden in his book.
“Moreover, if Joe Biden respects the dignity of the institution of the Senate, he should be insisting that the president submit any deal to approval of the Senate,” Cotton (R-Ark.) added.
Biden blasted the letter as “beneath the dignity” of the Senate, in a statement late Monday after Cotton publicized the note.
Written by Cotton and signed by 47 Republican senators, it was addressed to Iran, questioning a deal the United States and five other world powers are negotiating with Tehran.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz on Tuesday called the letter a “blatant, flagrant and partisan attempt to interfere with the negotiations.”
Hillary Clinton even slammed it during her email press conference as “out of step with the best traditions of American leadership.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif brushed off the GOP move as having “no legal value.”
But he also said it showed the US can’t be trusted.
“This kind of letter is unprecedented and undiplomatic,” Zarif said. “In truth, it told us we cannot trust the United States.”
Republicans are attempting to impose new sanctions against Iran or force any deal on nuclear containment to be approved by Congress. Their efforts were fueled last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned that a deal with Iran threatens his nation’s survival.