Biden Blasts Letter from GOP Senators to Iran: 'Beneath the Dignity of an Institution I Revere

Vice President Joe Biden issued a blistering statement Monday night in response to a letter from Senate Republicans to Iran concerning current nuclear negotiations.

"The letter sent on March 9th by forty-seven Republican Senators to the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressly designed to undercut a sitting President in the midst of sensitive international negotiations, is beneath the dignity of an institution I revere," Biden said.

"This letter, in the guise of a constitutional lesson, ignores two centuries of precedent and threatens to undermine the ability of any future American President, whether Democrat or Republican, to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the United States," the vice president continued. "Honorable people can disagree over policy. But this is no way to make America safer or stronger."

Biden was referencing a letter sent by almost half the U.S. Senate and nearly every Republican Monday, warning Iran that Congress must also approve international treaties. The letter cautioned the Islamic Republic that a deal only agreed upon by President Barack Obama could be overturned by a following administration.

"In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which Senators wrote directly to advise another country—much less a longtime foreign adversary— that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them," Biden said. "This letter sends a highly misleading signal to friend and foe alike that that our commander-in-chief cannot deliver on America’s commitments—a message that is as false as it is dangerous."

"The decision to undercut our President and circumvent our constitutional system offends me as a matter of principle," he added. "As a matter of policy, the letter and its authors have also offered no viable alternative to the diplomatic resolution with Iran that their letter seeks to undermine."

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