U.S. Lawmakers Push for Renewed Iran Outreach

From NTI

Nearly one-third of U.S. House lawmakers are urging President Obama to forgo "provocative actions" while reaching out to Iran's incoming president over a long-running dispute regarding the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear program, al-Monitor reported on Thursday.

"It would be a mistake not to test whether [Hassan Rouhani's] election represents a genuine opportunity for progress toward a verifiable, enforceable agreement that prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” says a communication to Obama co-authored by Representatives Charles Dent (R-Pa.) and David Price (D-N.C.).

“We must also be careful not to foreclose the possibility of such progress by taking provocative actions that could weaken the newly elected president’s standing relative to Iran’s hard-liners,” it adds.

Washington has led a global push to economically isolate Iran over suspicions that it is pursuing a nuclear-bomb capability. Iran insists its atomic ambitions are entirely peaceful.

The document as of Friday had been backed by 112 Democrats and 16 Republicans, according to U.S. News and World Report.