50 AIPAC-backed House members urge Biden against 2015 nuclear deal

Backed and praised by the Israeli lobby called AIPAC, fifty US House members have sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, urging him to submit the full text of any potential agreement over the 2015 nuclear deal before signing it.

Led by Congressman Josh Gottheimer, 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans, signed the letter which repeats baseless allegations against Iran’s nuclear program and defense capabilities.

According to Middle East Eye, several of the Democrats who signed the letter have received significant campaign contributions from AIPAC and its array of pro-Israel PACs.

AIPAC had also circulated a memo throughout Congress over the past several days that included several points that matched the letter, celebrated the effort and Gottheimer's leading role.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that the head of the Mossad spy agency is set to travel to Washington in early September to hold closed-door meetings in Congress, hoping to further disrupt the nuclear deal with Iran. 

US reaction to Iran’s response

The growing pressure on Biden came as Iran submitted views on the US’s response to an EU draft text for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.

“After receiving the United States’ response, the Islamic Republic’s expert team examined it carefully and Iran’s responses were compiled and submitted to the coordinator tonight,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kan'ani said early Friday.

"The text that was sent (by Iran) has a constructive approach aimed at finalizing the negotiations," he added.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed on Thursday that they have received Iran’s response through European mediators.

"We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive," claimed the official without providing any further explanation. 

Iran submits views on US response to EU draft text on reviving 2015 deal

Iran says it has offered its opinion on the US’s response to an EU draft text for the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Washington unilaterally withdrew from the landmark deal in 2018, and re-imposed crippling sanctions under the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign, despite Iran's full compliance with the deal.

Since last year, the Austrian capital has been hosting multiple rounds of talks between the signatories of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in order to examine the prospect of the deal's revival and removal of the illegal economic sanctions.

The negotiations have seen many interruptions due to Washington's obdurate refusal to respect Iran's red lines.

The European Union, which acts as the coordinator in indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, recently came up with a draft proposal to revive the deal. Tehran offered its response, which the bloc described as "reasonable."

The United States took several weeks to offer its response to Iran's comments.

Iran wants 'stronger guarantees' from US to revive nuclear deal: FM

Iran says it is reviewing the US response to the European Union draft proposal aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal but stresses the importance of "stronger guarantees" from the American side to clinch the deal

Iran needs stronger guarantees

Prior to Tehran’s offering of its views to Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday that the country needs "stronger guarantees" from the American side to clinch an agreement

"We have received the American side's last text, and my colleagues are closely studying the response with the required [level of] rigor and speed," he said while speaking in a joint press conference in Moscow along with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

The top Iranian diplomat, however, asserted that Tehran needed a "stronger text and stronger guarantees" to wrap up the negotiations.

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