Tehran, Iran, February 5
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The US congressmen have overplayed their request to visit Iran during the upcoming elections, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission believes.
They must have sought visas through the Foreign Ministry or Iran's interest section as it is the norm with all countries on all such occasions, he told Trend February 5.
Congressmen Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) on February 4 sent a letter to Iranian Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and IRGC Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari requesting their assistance with arranging agenda items that the three lawmakers hope to accomplish in Iran, including appointments with American hostages, visits to Iranian nuclear facilities, updates on Iran's recent ballistic missile tests, and an IRGC briefing on the detention of 10 U.S. Navy sailors.
The request seems to be rather an inquisitive act having in mind the obstacles the Congress used to create against the making and implementation of the deal which showed their enmity to the Islamic Republic, Ardestany said.
There have been zero relations on the Iran-US record and the fact that US congressmen call us enemies, the MP observed.
"So, even if they visit Iran and file a report, it does not look like it's going to be a positive report. They want to say Iran is not democratic. We do not see a problem in their visit. But what is interesting is that it is congressmen who have made the request," he concluded.
The recently implemented nuclear deal (aka Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) met the harshest criticism from US congressmen, who nearly brought it to a halt on occasions, giving President Barack Obama a hard time pushing it through. However, the deal's implementation was announced on February 16, a long awaited moment.
Ayatollah Khamenei has on occasions cautioned the Iranian community that the nuclear deal won't be the end of US bother, adding that after the nuclear issue, the US has several other issues to criticize Iran for, including human rights, missile program, etc.