1 May 2015

Tom Cotton Lashes Out at “Cowardly” Iranian Foreign Minister

April 29, 2015

Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, a vocal critic of the emerging Iran nuclear deal, has made a direct attack on the character of Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is visiting New York City for the review conference of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Zarif had stated this morning that the sanctions relief in a nuclear deal would be codified in a United Nations Security Council resolution which all states must follow “whether Senator Cotton likes it or not.” Cotton’s office issued a statement suggesting that Zarif’s remarks highlighted a divergence between the Obama administration’s claims about the deal and Iran’s own interpretation. What came next was far more unusual: Cotton took to his Twitter account to attack Zarif’s character and personal history, saying to Zarif: “I hear you called me out today. If you’re so confident, let’s debate the Constitution. Here’s offer: meet in DC [...] time of your choosing to debate Iran’s record of tyranny, treachery & terror. I understand if you decline [...] after all, in your 20s, you hid in US during Iran-Iraq war while peasants & kids were marched to die [...] Not badge of courage [...] to hide in US while your country fought war to survive-but shows cowardly character still on display today.”

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