Earlier today, Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Braun (R-Indiana), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Todd Young (R-Indiana), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), and Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) introduced a resolution to mark the anniversary of the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. The resolution highlights the shortcomings of the Iran nuclear agreement, reaffirms Congressional opposition to Iran ever acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, and rejects the reapplication of JCPOA sanctions relief. The full text of the resolution may be found here.
“Today marks one year since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed a maximum pressure campaign against the regime. Now, Iran is threatening to stockpile and resume enrichment of uranium unless we relent and bail out its dying economy. I hope Iran’s threats serve as a wakeup call for our European allies and partners, as well as members of the business community. Any attempt to invest in the Iranian market, under any circumstances other than Iran’s complete and verifiable cessation of its full range of malign activities, will be fraught with huge legal and financial risks. Businesses should not put themselves in that compromising position, and our European partners should not give in to Iran’s high-stakes nuclear blackmail,” said Cotton.
“The Iran nuclear deal was one of the single worst foreign policy disasters in recent memory. It severely threatened our closest allies and rewarded our worst adversaries by giving them a fast track toward acquiring nuclear weapons,” said Hawley. “I support the Administration’s maximum pressure campaign to hold Iran accountable for its sponsorship of terrorism, human rights abuses and leading role in the proliferation of chemical weapons.”
“Iran’s ongoing nuclear misbehavior underscores why the United States was absolutely right to withdraw from the flawed deal. The people of Iran deserve better as they continue to suffer under the Iranian regime’s criminal corruption, massive economic mismanagement and systemic human rights abuses, in addition to its support for terrorists and the murderous Assad regime, ballistic missile aggression, and nuclear misbehavior,” said Rubio.
“The Obama Iran nuclear deal was a catastrophe for the national security of the United States and our allies,” said Cruz. “It legalized Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and was designed to fully expire and lift restrictions on Iran in the next few years. In the face of enormous amount of opposition, President Trump made the right call by terminating U.S. participation in the deal and imposing pressure on the Ayatollahs. Now there should be a consensus that there’s no reason to re-enter a deal that will be winding down anyway.”
“President Trump made a courageous decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, which builds off his success of rooting out ISIS and keeping our country safe from the threat of global terrorism,” said Braun.
“Today, on the one year anniversary of America’s withdrawal from the flawed JCPOA, I am glad to join my colleagues in reaffirming this decision. As a nation, we should reject any sanctions relief that would allow the Iranian regime to continue its malign activities – and allied countries and businesses should do the same,” said Blackburn.
“An emboldened Iran is a threat to the world, and the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal did nothing but strengthen this State Sponsor of Terrorism while endangering Israel and our Middle East allies. I agree with President Trump’s decision and firmly stand with his administration as the United States works to eliminate Iran’s ability to finance terrorism,” said Cramer.
“A year ago, the United States rightly walked away from a terrible nuclear deal with Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terror. Today, as they saber-rattle and threaten to restart their uranium enrichment program, Iran’s despots are making it clear that they’re still hell-bent on destabilizing the Middle East and threatening American interests. The United States and our allies must continue our maximum-pressure campaign,” said Sasse.