Somebody should inform Tom Cotton about the diplomatic pitfalls of Google Translate.
When Sen. Tom Cotton persuaded 46 other Republicans to sign his saboteur's letter to Iranian leaders warning them any deal struck by President Obama on their nation's nuclear program could be reversed, he also tweeted a link to a Farsi version on Senate letterhead. That went to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Foreign Policy
points out:
Unfortunately for Cotton, the Farsi version of his letter was a bungled mess, poorly translated, and reads a lot like a middle schooler’s attempt at an essay on U.S. constitutional law and the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Cotton also didn’t do himself any favors by tweeting one of those lackluster translations at a man who speaks fluent English: Zarif, the foreign minister. Rouhani’s English isn’t bad either.
Staff members at Foreign Policy helpfully have given English speakers a taste of what that translated letter sounds like in bad Farsi:
It has come to our attention that while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government, you may not understand our constitutional system. Thus, we pen two features of our Constitution to your attention — the power to make international and the different personalities agreements and of federal officials which you seriously consider while the negotiations are progressing.
First, under our Constitution, the president negotiates international agreements and Congress plays the important role of ratifying them. About a treaty, the Senate must ratify it by a two-thirds vote. A so-called legislative-chairmanship agreement forces a majority vote in both the House and the Senate (because of rule laws, which means a three-fifths vote in the Senate). Anything that hasn’t been approved by Congress is not more than any chairmanship agreement. [...]
We hope while the nuclear negotiations are progressing this letter enriching your knowledge of our constitutional system and mutual clear understanding elevating.
Cotton should have added a line about how we Americans electing candidates for offices high up often are bad choices picking.