Posted on 03/09/2015 12:30:30 PM PDT by Dave346
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking to Iranian press, mocked a letter sent by 47 Senate Republicans to Tehran warning of their intent to undermine any future multilateral agreement – as a "propaganda ploy" and questioned whether its signatories – including the upper chamber's most senior members – fully understood their constitutional role.
"In our view, the letter has no legal value," Zarif said. "While no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the respect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history."
"The world is not the United States, and the conduct of interstate relations is governed by international law – not domestic law," he continued. "The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states and are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs."
Could have been written by Obama, word for word.
There is no treaty until and unless the Senate approves (with a 2/3 vote). This is nothing new.
(from the US Senate website:)
The Senate’s Role in Treaties
The Constitution provides that the president “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur” (Article II, section 2). The Constitution’s framers gave the Senate a share of the treaty power in order to give the president the benefit of the Senate’s advice and counsel, check presidential power, and safeguard the sovereignty of the states by giving each state an equal vote in the treatymaking process. As Alexander Hamilton explained in Federalist no. 75, “the operation of treaties as laws, plead strongly for the participation of the whole or a portion of the legislative body in the office of making them.” The constitutional requirement that the Senate approve a treaty with a two-thirds vote means that successful treaties must gain support that overcomes partisan division. The two-thirds requirement adds to the burdens of the Senate leadership, and may also encourage opponents of a treaty to engage in a variety of dilatory tactics in hopes of obtaining sufficient votes to ensure its defeat.
The Senate does not ratify treaties—the Senate approves or rejects a resolution of ratification. If the resolution passes, then ratification takes place when the instruments of ratification are formally exchanged between the United States and the foreign power(s).
Most treaties submitted to the Senate have received its advice and consent to ratification. During its first 200 years, the Senate approved more than 1,500 treaties and rejected only 21. A number of these, including the Treaty of Versailles, were rejected twice. Most often, the Senate has simply not voted on treaties that its leadership deemed not to have sufficient support within the Senate for approval, and in general these treaties have eventually been withdrawn. At least 85 treaties were eventually withdrawn because the Senate never took final action on them. Treaties may also remain in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for extended periods, since treaties are not required to be resubmitted at the beginning of each new Congress. There have been instances in which treaties have lain dormant within the committee for years, even decades, without action being taken.
Oh lord, now we are having to be lectured by IRAN.
Thanks Barak Obama.
This is choice – an Iranian terrorist tool, lecturing U.S. Senators on their Constitutional responsibilities…
(The man’s name in Persian must translate to ‘Harry Reid’)
It seems it was very important that the letter was sent as Iran does not understand that Obama needs Congress’s 2/3’concent to sign the deal.
Hehehe, Kerry is going to have to explain it to them
All that every one sees and hears in the news and from this evil regime is nothing but smoke and mirrors.
Does anyone believe that Iran is helping the US forces, Iraqi forces in Iraq to fight against ISIS ?
It’s a ploy, a lie, to catch of guard our attention away from this nuke deal with Iran.
Does anyone think that Iran is doing this from the goodness from their hearts ? Doing this to volunteer to help fight ISIS ?
Iran knows this nuke deal is already going to go through and be signed.
This nuke deal will be signed.
The US, this evil regime already knows that Iran has nukes and the delivery systems to attack Israel after they sign that treaty, and this evil regime is helping them, because this evil regime hates Israel.
It’s going to be signed.
But God will protect Israel.
There will be great earthquakes, the earth will wobble, signs in the heavens they are already here.
The sun will be APPREAR to be smitten, the GREAT SUN SPOT,
Iran will be punished by God by fire.
Great earthquakes, the earth wobble, the sun smitten, the great sun spot.
Wow, since the 2014 Mandate the GOP-e has shown that they are not afraid to write and sign a “terse” letter.
What nerve it takes. Almost as much voting for the record.
I’m surprised he didn’t call them all “racists” for opposing O.
It looks to me like the letter got their attention!
So radical is the American Experiment that even 230+ years later governments of the world misunderstand it.
What we have here is Iran supposing the deal signed by Obama is somehow binding...because of "International Law".
They should ask Ukraine how those Executive Commitments work.
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