TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani cautioned Washington against the heavy price it will have to pay if the Congress votes down a nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 - Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany.

Speaking in a gathering of Iranian clerics in the city of Mashhad on Monday, Ayatollah Rafsanjani said the White House is well aware of Iran�s scientific power and the Islamic Republic�s role in the fight against terrorism.

That is why the US Congress�s possible rejection of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will be to the detriment of Americans, he added.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.

The 159-page deal has its own opponents and proponents both in Iran and the other countries that are parties to the JCPOA, particularly the US.

While the United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution to endorse the deal, the text of the document needs to be ratified by both Iran's Parliament and the US Congress.

Congress is going to vote in September on a measure disapproving the accord, which Obama has promised a swift veto. Lawmakers would then have to find enough votes to override the president.

By Tasnim News Agency