Tom Cotton, a Republican senator of Arkansas, sent a letter signed by 47 other Republicans to the Islamic Republic of Iran on March 9th. After immense disagreement over President Obama’s decision about loosening nuclear sanctions, many senators believed that they should remind the politicians of Iran that if the decision does not pass through Congress, it is irrelevant (LA Times). And the Republicans are not planning on passing Obama’s proposal.

Many of those who signed the letter have already publicly stated their regret over the letter. However, Tom Cotton stands by his action. He still believes that he has undermined the negotiations with Iran, and that the next President will undo any progress made by Obama (Fox News). Loosening nuclear sanctions with any country has potentially negative sides, but Cotton’s letter seems not to have stopped negotiations, but rather put Iran in a better position.

Though he used more colorful language, the distinguished political scientist Daniel W. Drezner of Tufts University noted that “The Iran letter wasn’t illegal. It falls into the more nebulous category of a [dumb] move” (LA Times). The core issue is that the letter exposes the weakness and split within the United States Congress. The current Iranian leaders are very familiar with the American political system, and Cotton’s actions only confirm their suspicions about the varying opinions in the US.

Whether or not Congress should hold on to Iranian sanctions, Cotton has not helped his cause. When Iranian leaders look to the legitimacy of the US sanctions in the future, the UN will be more likely not to verify the sanctions since UN members are now fully aware of a conflict over the issue. In this situation, an open letter was not the answer. Iranian leaders definitely did not need Cotton to know that their progress could be overturned by either Congress or the next President.