Germans deny signing GOP letter on Iran

A Republican effort to showcase international support for taking a hard line on Iran has backfired after two German lawmakers denied any involvement.

Reps. Doug Lamborn, R-Col., and Randy Weber, R-Tx., circulated a letter to world leaders last month that they claimed had been signed by four European lawmakers. Since then, two of the alleged supporters, German parliamentarians Johann Wadephul and Roderich Kiesewetter, have informed Al-Monitor that they were not involved.

“This letter never came to the attention of Dr. Wadephul nor Mr. Kiesewetter and therefore has not been signed by them,” a Wadephul spokeswoman told Al-Monitor via email. The parliamentarian followed up with a formal letter stating he had “at no time signed nor agreed to support” the letter.

Asked for an explanation, Lamborn’s office shared a follow-up message it has sent around Capitol Hill that blames the error on a “misunderstanding.” A staffer declined to provide any further answers about how the mix-up happened.

“Clarification: A previous version of the email mentioned that MP Roderich Keisewetter and MP Johann Wadephul are to be signers of the letter,” the message says. “Regrettably, this was a misunderstanding. Mr. Keiswetter and Mr. Wadephul will not be signing this letter.”

The two parliamentarians are members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union. Two other conservative European lawmakers, David Burrowes of the United Kingdom and Meyer Habib of France, confirmed to Al-Monitor that they had signed the letter.

The letter warns US President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom that a bad deal with Iran would "without fail" result in more sanctions.

“Bearing in mind Iran’s history, we remain skeptical of the Iranian regime’s sincerity and commitment to reach an agreement. The regime violated international law in the first place with a covert attempt to develop nuclear weapons. We fear the regime may attempt to use any further delays or any loopholes in a bad deal to continue these efforts covertly," the letter states. "Further, the continued extension of deadlines weakened the international consensus on the need to prevent a nuclear Iran. In view of the reluctance to ratchet up pressure on Iran and to stand firm against the regime, companies and countries are flocking to Tehran to resume business.

"We do not wish to hinder the negotiations," it reads. "However we believe Iran must realize that any failure to negotiate an acceptable deal, one that prevents a nuclear armed Iran, will result without fail in tougher sanctions than ever.”