President Barack Obama wrote a secret letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two weeks ago expressing a mutual interest in battling ISIS, according to a recent report.

The letter indicated that the U.S. would be interested in cooperating with Iran against the Islamic State with the condition that Tehran works to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the P5+1 by the Nov. 24 deadline.

The letter, the fourth that the President has penned to Khamenei since taking office, emphasizes once again the strong desire to diplomatically engage with Iran over both ISIS and ongoing nuclear talks.

News of this letter appeared as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to travel to Oman to meet one-on-one Sunday with Javad Zarif, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“There’s a sizable portion of the political elite that cut their teeth on anti-Americanism,” Obama said Wednesday about the regime in Tehran with no mention of the letter.

“Whether they can manage to say ’Yes’…is an open question.”

As the dust of the Midterm Elections settles giving the Republicans control of the Senate, there is much talk about expected change with regard to U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran, as lawmakers now have the power to both reject an agreement and to apply harsher economic penalties.

To date, there has been bipartisan support on the Menendez-Kirk legislation, a bill written by Sens. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) pushing for tougher sanctions against the Iranian regime.

“The best way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is to quickly pass the bipartisan Menendez-Kirk legislation—not to give the Iranians more time to build a bomb,” Kirk said Wednesday.

Adding to the concern and criticism of allies in the Middle East regarding too soft of an approach with the Iranian regime, it appears the President did not notify partners in the region, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about the letter.

Arab nations have already accused the White House of keeping its dealing with Iran secret, warning that normalizing relations with the Islamic Republic could jeopardize security in the region.

During a regularly scheduled press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the report, to which he replied he was “not in a position to talk about private correspondence between the President and another world leader.”

Earnest acknowledged that the U.S. has participated in sideline talks with Iran over its nuclear program but maintained that the U.S. policy toward Iran’s government “remains unchanged.”

http://www.lisadaftari.com/report-obama-sent-secret-letter-iran-cooperation-isis/

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