在美國國會大廈,最近熱議的伊朗討好西方的“魅力攻勢”似乎不被理睬。
像是美國參議院武裝部隊委員會的詹姆斯·因霍夫等議員們就對這個國家的誠意表示懷疑。
“他們是我們的敵人。
他們恨我們。
這些人任何基於我們信任的事情都不會奏效," 因霍夫說道。
11名共和黨參議員已經遞交美國總統奧巴馬一封信件,敦促他對德黑蘭施加更大壓力,並警告稱雖然德黑蘭的強硬外交正軟化,但伊朗本質上並沒有改變。
而且不僅僅是共和黨成員,往往與奧巴馬政見不合的人也表示懷疑。
伊朗總統哈桑·魯哈尼本周在聯合國的演講未能打動像是參議院外交關係委員會主席羅伯特·梅內德斯的一些民主黨人。
“我聽到了很多關於和平,我們當然同樣也在尋求。
但當你訴求強大的核武器就很難促進和平,”梅內德斯。
這樣的戒心對伊朗而言可能是個大問題,因為這個國家正試圖說服國際社會減輕到來的制裁—而不經國會批准許多美國的制裁無法撤銷。
In the U.S. Capitol, the much-talked about recent Iranian "charm offensive" on the West seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Lawmakers, like the Senate Armed Service Committee's James Inhofe are skeptical of Iran's sincerity.
"They're our enemies.
And anything that's going to be predicated on our trust of these people isn't going to work," said Inhofe.
A group of 11 Republican senators has sent U.S. President Barack Obama a letter, urging him to increase pressure on Tehran, warning that despite Tehran's diplomatic softening, Iran has not changed course.
And it's not only members of the Republican Party, often at odds with Obama, who are expressing doubts.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's speech this week at the United Nations failed to impress some Democrats, like Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez.
“I heard a lot about peace, which we of course seek to embrace.
But it is very hard to be promoting peace when you are rushing to powerful nuclear weapons,” said Menendez.
Such wariness could be a big problem for Iran as it tries to convince the international community the time has come to ease sanctions-as many U.S. sanctions cannot be undone without Congressional approval.
