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Menendez, majority of US Senate on same page over Iran: Analyst

Sunday, 08 March 2015 1:34 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 08 March 2015 2:04 AM ]

James George Jatras says Senator Menendez’s opinion on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions is shared by most of the US Senate.

Most members of the US Senate share Democratic Senator Robert Menendez’s opinion on Iran’s nuclear energy program and sanctions, an American foreign policy analyst says.

“Senator Menendez is a very powerful member of the Senate, especially in the area of foreign affairs, and his opinion on Iran carries great weight inside the US Senate,” said James George Jatras, a former US diplomat and adviser to the Senate Republican leadership.

The Department of Justice has reportedly decided to bring criminal corruption charges against Menendez, who is involved in congressional efforts to pass anti-Iran legislation.

“As far as the pending charges against him from the Justice Department, I think… you have to presume that he is innocent until the government shows that they have proof of criminal wrongdoing,” Jatras told Press TV on Saturday.

“But I do not think that charges will really do much to change the direction of the Senate on the question of Iran, and the nuclear program and sanctions because Senator Menendez’s opinions are widely shared by other senators of both parties,” he noted.

Menendez, former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been one of the detractors of President Barack Obama’s administration.

Menendez, along with Senators Bob Corker Lindsey Graham and Tim Kaine, introduced a bill on February 27 that would prevent Obama from removing sanctions on Iran until Congress reviews a nuclear deal.

However, the US president has threatened to veto the legislation, dubbed as the "Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015".

"The president has been clear that now is not the time for Congress to pass additional legislation on Iran," said US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan. "If this bill is sent to the President, he will veto it.”

Iran and the P5+1 group of states – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany – are holding negotiations to narrow their differences on the outstanding issues related to Tehran's nuclear program ahead of a July 1 deadline for the final agreement.

The scale of Iran’s uranium enrichment and the timetable for the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions are seen as major sticking points in the talks.

The illegal sanctions on Iran have been imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear program.

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