President Barack Obama on Monday described an open letter to Iran signed by 47 Republican senators as an "unusual coalition" with Iranian hardliners.
"Well, I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition," Obama said when asked about the letter during a White House photo op.
"I think what we're going to focus on right now is actually seeing whether we can get a deal or not, and once we do, then we'll
— if we do, then we'll be able to make the case to the American people," Obama told reporters.
The open letter is addressed to the Iranian leadership and warns that any deal on Iran nuclear program signed by the current administration is not binding unless approved by Congress and can be revoked by a future president with the stroke of a pen.
Most Republicans and some Democrats oppose the current talks, believing it will only increase Iran's chances of developing nuclear weapons. The letter was put together by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton and was signed by the entire GOP Senate leadership.
Likely GOP presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul also signed.
"It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system," the letter reads. "Anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement. 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 White House has called the letter a "partisan strategy to undermine the president's ability to conduct foreign policy and advance our national security."
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