At a meeting held by the Christians United for Israel organization on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said he would propose a resolution by October and would ask Congress to authorize war with Iran.
Graham’s threat comes as 118 members of the US House of Representatives, 103 Democrats and 15 Republicans, signed a letter last week calling on US President Barack Obama to engage in talks with Tehran.
“We urge you to pursue the potential opportunity presented by Iran's recent presidential election by reinvigorating US efforts to secure a negotiated nuclear agreement,” US congressmen told Obama in the letter.
The US and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
American lawmakers’ talks for negotiations with Iran follow a new round of sanctions, ordered by Obama on July 1, against Tehran, targeting the Iranian currency, the rial, and the country’s auto industry.
Moreover, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday that both chambers of US Congress are considering a new series of sanctions against the Persian country, targeting the nation’s mining and construction sectors as well as oil industry.
Tehran has repeatedly rejected US claims that its nuclear activities may seek military purposes, and accused Washington of playing politics in an attempt to deprive the Iranian nation from its right, which is to achieve civil nuclear technology.
In his latest reaction toward possible talks with the US, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Aytollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said he is skeptical about US honesty in negotiations.
Iran as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
