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The administration of President Barack Obama has briefed US congressmen on talks between Iran and the P5+1 group over Tehran’s nuclear energy program amid a fresh lobbying effort by Israelis.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain - plus Germany held talks in Geneva on October 15-16, which the Obama administration described as promising. The two sides have agreed to meet again in Geneva on November 7-8.
On Wednesday, the Obama administration held its first classified briefing with US lawmakers over the talks with Iran, reported Foreign Policy’s The Cable.
According to The Cable, various House committees, including Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Appropriations and Financial Services, took part in the briefing.
The briefing came amid lobbying efforts by Israelis and some hawks in Congress who are deeply concerned by the Iranian government’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the lengthy dispute with the West over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Last week, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) sent a memo to US lawmakers claiming that Iran does not have the right to enrich uranium.
A group of Republican senators also released a statement last week which said the “U.S. should not suspend new sanctions, nor consider releasing limited frozen assets, before Tehran suspends its nuclear enrichment activities.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Tuesday in an interview with al-Monitor that Iran should accept “nuclear energy without enrichment.” Steinitz was in Washington meeting with US officials including Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman who led the US delegation to talks between the P5+1 and Iran in Geneva this month.
Iran is a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Iranian government has stressed that its people’s rights to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, must be respected.
The United States, the Israeli regime, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and the European Union using the claim as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions against Tehran. Iran categorically rejects the allegation.
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