More than 40 Republican senators have written an open letter to Iranian leaders explaining how the U.S. Constitution works and warning that any nuclear deal signed between them and President Barack Obama is subject to be repealed by the next president.
"It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system ... Anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement," the 47 senators wrote, according to Bloomberg. "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."
The letter concludes by saying, "We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes understanding and clarity as nuclear negotiations progress."
Signed by the chamber's entire party leadership as well as potential 2016 presidential contenders Sens. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, the letter is meant to pressure the Obama administration into conceding more power to Congress in regards to the negotiation process.
As Vox notes, the letter is also likely designed to instill uncertainty in Iranian leaders, who may be less likely to trust Obama and more hesitant to sign a deal if they believe Congress or a future president could easily overturn it.
"Iran's ayatollahs need to know before agreeing to any nuclear deal that ... any unilateral executive agreement is one they accept at their own peril," Senator Tom Cotton, who organized the letter, told Bloomberg.
However, if the nuclear deal, which is nearing a June 30 deadline, works as well as the Obama administration hopes it will, supporters say the next president and Congress could have a hard time changing or canceling it, according to Bloomberg.
But even Obama said Sunday that gaps still exist, and if his administration cannot reach a deal allowing them to verify that Iran is not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, "we're not going to take [the deal]," reported VOAnews.
Nonetheless, many senators from both parties are insistent that the administration will need to include Congress in any deal with Iran for it to succeed.
