Republicans seeking the US presidency expressing fierce criticism of the Iran nuclear agreement has raised a big question in Tehran — will future American leaders keep their side of the bargain?
With the US presidential election only 15 months away, opponents of last month’s historic pact — particularly those who are lining up to replace Obama — pour scorn on it.
No leading Republican contender has pledged to stand by the agreement between Iran, the United States and five other world powers. Several have promised to rip it up if they are elected.
On Wednesday, Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush called the deal a “farce”, saying rules for inspecting Iran’s nuclear sites were unclear.
When the nuclear deal’s terms were concluded — international sanctions on Iran will be lifted in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme — it came against heavy odds and opposition.
Republican presidential candidates and lawmakers have since kept the fight against the deal alive.

– Obama veto likely –
Iran and the US, the dominant international player in the talks led by Secretary of State John Kerry, broke off diplomatic relations in 1980, after the Islamic revolution in Tehran the previous year.
For many Americans, including representatives in Congress, the rancour with Iran is epitomised by the 444-day US hostage crisis. After students stormed the walls of the US embassy in Tehran they eventually paraded captive diplomats in black blindfolds.
The Republican-dominated Senate and House of Representatives are expected in September to pass a resolution opposing the nuclear deal.
The partisanship highlights the trouble the agreement could face should a Republican win the White House next November.
The battle in Congress over the deal has coincided with a public relations push in Washington and Tehran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Tehran’s lead negotiator in the nuclear talks, recently conducted several high-level briefings in the capital about the deal.
The Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei has not conclusively backed the deal.
The 76-year-old has praised Zarif and his negotiators but repeatedly casts doubt on the trustworthiness of the United States.
“They think that through this agreement — the fate of which is not clear as no one knows if it will be approved here or in America — they could find a way to intrude into the country,” Khamenei said on Monday.