Hammond’s visit to Iran to influence US Congress: Ex-US senator

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mike Gravel, a former US senator in San Francisco, to discuss British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond’s recent two-day visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: It is interesting when watching that video we saw the different high ranking officials that Philip Hammond the Foreign Secretary met including the chief of the Central Bank of Iran. Do you think as we have covered this piece of news as a reset in relations though cautiously that this is going to somehow signify the way that other western countries will be dealing with Iran? We have seen EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini come including the French foreign minister also.

Gravel: No question and this is very significant because the Great Britain is the closest ally to the United States and obviously the trip was to open up the embassy and they are shortly going to be appointing ambassadors. The term that he used was that we cannot continue to have Iran isolated but you know who has been isolated today it is the United States and primarily because of the immature actions of the Congress of the United States and all of the Republican presidential candidates. It is an embarrassment to us.

Now he has lead a delegation that included a number of businessmen and this is something that has been going on within Germany, within Italy, within France and all of this is an effort to go ahead and begin economic relations with [Iran] and if the Congress does not approve the deal and I think that is not the case. I think that the Congress will approve the deal and will not be able to override the president’s veto in that regard. But here the only nation that I know that is being isolated in all of these activities is the United States unfortunately because of the US Congress.  

Press TV: Well how much of a factor will this play along with other western countries when it comes to Congress as a whole deciding on whether or not to pass Iran’s nuclear conclusion?

Gravel: I think that there is no question in my mind that the foreign ministers’ actions are to shore up President Obama’s efforts to get the Congress to agree to the Vienna deal and so we have seen this with Fabius, the Foreign Minister of France going to Tehran and a delegation from Germany going to Tehran and also Italy. All these significant players in the 5+1 have gone to Iran to really underscore the fact that there is a new chapter to begin in the world and that chapter is going to involve Iran taking its proper place as a country of influence in the Middle East and a positive influence in the Middle East.

Let me reiterate, the only group that is going to be isolated is the United States if the Congress were to act irresponsibly and I do not think that would be the case. I do not think that the Congress in the United States can override the president’s veto and I am not even sure they can pass into Senate because they will need to show 60 votes that they can pass in the Senate a resolution of disapproval. But here again we have seen these other NATO countries step forward and now we have seen Britain step forward which is our closest ally and it is not a coincidence this being done. This is being done to impact the American Congress.

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