Officials in Iran's foreign ministry are up in arms over the release of details of an agreement proposed to relieve the Islamic republic of some of the economic sanctions it has faced for pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
Responding to an email from WND, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said his government is not open to any "modification" or re-working of the terms reached in Geneva last week.
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"The credibility of the U.S. government is at stake," he said.
According to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, another source in the foreign ministry, spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham, said the details about the agreement being publicized by the White House are just wrong.
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"What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action, and this fact sheet has unfortunately been translated and released in the name of the Geneva agreement by certain media, which is not true," she told the Iranian press, the Beacon said.
At issue is the agreement between Iran, the U.S. and a list of other world powers that reportedly sought to halt Iran's march toward nuclear weaponry.
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Congressional sources say some U.S. leaders are worried Iran didn't agree to reduce or destroy key elements of its suspected nuclear weapons program.
They say the program only commits Tehran essentially to a freeze of what it has in place.
In exchange, the U.S. would cut back on sanctions, giving Iran access to billions of dollars in assets that have been frozen.
Zarif, to WND, waved off threats from Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to raise the issue of imposing new congressional sanctions when representatives return to the Hill next week.
Schumer and another outspoken critic of the nuclear agreement, Rep. Elliot Engel, D-N.Y., did not respond to phone calls asking for reaction to the Iranian proclamation.
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A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, also had no comment.
Netanyahu had publicly labeled the agreement "a disaster" and vowed to lobby U.S. politicians in Congress to "block" it.
According to the Beacon report, Iranians are confirming one of their key rights under the agreement is the right to enrich uranium, a key part of a nuclear weapon.
"This comprehensive solution would enable Iran to fully enjoy its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the relevant articles of the NPT in conformity with its obligations therein," states the agreement, a copy of which was released by Iran.
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The report said the White House admitted that while the outline of the agreement is in place, the details remain to be finished – and administration officials could provide no time frame for that happening.
Christians United for Israel chief David Brog told the Beacon the White House might have been "played" by Iran.
"This may prove to be yet another worrisome sign that the Obama administration was played by the Iranians," he told the newspaper. "Their concessions were either illusory or meaningless, while ours will resuscitate the Iranian economy."