Miss. Senators, colleagues pledge to block any revised plan that fails to block Iran’s nuclear weapons capability.
On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) announced that they are among 49 Republican Senators who have issued a statement to the Biden administration informing them that they will not support the revived Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran.
According to press reports, the Biden administration may soon conclude an agreement with Iran in order to provide substantial sanctions relief in exchange for merely short-term limitations on Iran’s nuclear program.
The Senators wrote that the administration appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuses of human rights.
They argue that the nuclear limitations in this new deal appear to be significantly less restrictive than the 2015 nuclear deal and will sharply undermine U.S. leverage to secure an actually ‘longer and stronger’ deal. They stated that the deal appears likely to deepen Iran’s financial and security relationship with Moscow and Beijing, including through arms sales.
“Republicans have made it clear: We would be willing and eager to support an Iran policy that completely blocks Iran’s path to a nuclear weapons capability, constrains Iran’s ballistic missile program, and confronts Iran’s support for terrorism,” the statement says. “But if the administration agrees to a deal that fails to achieve these objectives or makes achieving them more difficult, Republicans will do everything in our power to reverse it. Unless Iran ceases its support for terrorism, we will oppose removing and seek to reimpose any terrorism-related sanctions. And we will force the Senate to vote on any administration effort to do so.”
“The administration has thus far refused to commit to submit a new Iran deal to the Senate for ratification as a treaty, as per its constitutional obligation, or for review under statutory requirements that passed on a bipartisan basis in response to the 2015 deal. Additionally, despite earlier promises to the contrary, the administration has failed to adequately consult with Congress,” the statement continues.
“We strongly urge the administration, our Democrat colleagues, and the international community to learn the lessons of the very recent past. A major agreement that does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive,” the lawmakers state.
Anne Summerhays
