Iranian senior MP sees US congress letter positive, but small step

A senior Iranian lawmaker welcomed the letter sent by the US congress to President Barack Obama on the start of talks with Iran's President-elect Hassan Rouhani, but meantime said it presented a small move towards building Tehran's confidence. "The letter by 131 US congressmen, including 17 Republicans, seems to be a small step, although it was positive," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazzem Jalali said on Sunday. "It seems that if the westerners continue the same trend, some signs of realism will be witnessed in them, and of course, the westerners should understand this fact that the Iranian nation is the side which distrusts the other side," he added. Last week, 131 US lawmakers called on the White House to opt for diplomatic channels on Iran following the victory of Hassan Rouhani in Iran’s June 14th presidential election. The request was made through a letter co-authored by Charlie Dent and David Price and signed by 131 lawmakers at the US House of Representatives. “We believe it would be a mistake not to test whether Dr. Rouhani’s election represents a real opportunity for progress toward a verifiable, enforceable agreement. … In order to test this proposition, it will be prudent for the United States to utilize all diplomatic tools to reinvigorate ongoing nuclear talks,” the letter read. In response, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin announced that the Iranian parliament is due to study the US congressmen’s letter, expressing surprise at the US lawmakers' change of position after calling for tougher sanctions against Tehran. “Some time ago, the members of the US Congress Foreign Relations Committee urged Obama to question the presidential election in Iran and impose new sanctions against the country,” Boroujerdi said. “The US congressmen’s change of approach and writing a letter to Barack Obama to ask for negotiations with Iran in a short period of time (after calling for more sanctions against Tehran) indicates the US officials’ instability in decision-making,” he added. Therefore the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission will study the US congressmen’s letter to Obama, Boroujerdi said.