Iran's Rouhani says sanctions must end immediately or nuke deal is off table

TEHRAN, April 9 (UPI) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will not sign any nuclear agreement unless sanctions against the country are lifted immediately.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will not sign any nuclear agreement unless economic sanctions against the country are lifted immediately, directly contradicting Washington's statement that the sanctions would be lifted gradually.

In televised remarks for Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day, Rouhani said his government would not stand for bullying, sanctions or threats.

"We will not sign any deal unless all sanctions are lifted on the same day ... We want a win-win deal for all parties involved in the nuclear talks," he said.

Six major world powers, including the United States, reached a framework agreement with Iran to dial down Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting international economic sanctions. This issue has become a flashpoint on Capitol Hill, with bipartisan support building that would ensure Congress has a say in any final deal.

Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican, has already said any ease of sanctions on Iran would have major hurdles to overcome.

"The sanctions that were put in place -- again, very bipartisan sanctions passed by Congress years ago that were effective -- the only way to get rid of them completely would be for Congress to vote to ease those sanctions," he said. "We haven't had that vote. I don't see that passing out of the House. I don't even think it would pass out of the Senate right now."

Wednesday, Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged committee chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to delay review of the so-called Corker-Menendez bill, a measure that would give Congress a voice in the proposed nuclear security agreement. The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., would also block President Obama from rolling back economic sanctions for about 60 days.

She asked Corker to postpone a committee vote until after a final deal has been reached, on the June 30 deadline.

"To force Congress to weigh in now on the Iran nuclear talks before a final deal has been completed would be a reckless rush to judgment. It would undermine negotiations at a critical moment and could derail a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deal with this looming threat," she said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to his Twitter account, questioning statements from the West that claimed the sanctions would be lifted gradually.

Iran/5+1 Statement: "US will cease the application of ALL nuclear-related secondary economic and financial sanctions." Is this gradual?

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 2, 2015

Iran/P5+1 Statement: "The EU will TERMINATE the implementation of ALL nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions". How about this?

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 2, 2015