Almost 50 Republican senators vowed on Monday not to support President Joe Biden's new nuclear deal with Iran.
Fox News reported that all Republican senators except Kentucky's Rand Paul have signed a statement addressed to Biden, the Democratic Party, and the international community against the nuclear deal. The senators warned that the agreement will not survive in Congress since it does not have strong bipartisan support.
"According to press reports, the Biden administration may soon conclude an agreement with Iran to provide substantial sanctions relief in exchange for merely short-term limitations on Iran's nuclear program," the Republican senators wrote.
"By every indication, the Biden administration appears to have given away the store (and) 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 continued.
The senators said the new deal has nuclear limitations that seem to be less restrictive than that of the 2015 deal, which they said was weak in itself. The senators project that the new deal will only undermine the government's leverage to secure a stronger and longer deal. They also raised that the deal will only deepen Iran's security and financial relationship with the Chinese and Russian governments, which includes arms sales.
Accordingly, the Biden Administration has not adequately sought counsel with Congress on the matter. The administration has also refused to submit to the Senate a new deal for Iran, which the Constitution deems its obligation as a response to statutory requirements for the 2015 deal.
The Republican senators highlighted that they have previously clarified their stand to willingly support a policy for Iran "that completely blocks Iran's path to a nuclear weapons capability, constrains Iran's ballistic missile program, and confronts Iran's support for terrorism."
In addition, the senators cautioned that they "will do everything in" their "power to reverse" any deal the Biden's administration will undertake that fails to achieve the objectives against Iran's pro-terrorism endeavors. They sternly conveyed opposition to efforts to remove or seek the reimposition of any terrorism-related sanctions on Iran unless Iran itself ends its support for terrorism. They revealed that they will force the Senate to vote on this.
Aljazeera explained that the United States has been negotiating with Iran indirectly in Vienna for months to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The nuclear deal, which is known previously as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, led to a decline in Iran's nuclear program as a result of sanctions lifted against their economy. Former President Donald Trump withdrew last 2018 the American government from the deal, which in turn prompted Iran to increase its nuclear program.
The Biden Administration believes it is near to closing the deal with Iran, as per statements made by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman over the weekend. Sherman said that they anticipate all parties bringing the matter to a close.
Meanwhile during a press briefing held on Monday, United States Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price disclosed the government's efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"We continue to believe that it is profoundly in our national interest to see to it that Iran is permanently and verifiably barred from obtaining a nuclear weapon. We've heard from our European allies that they are squarely with us. Of course, it does not stand to reason that it would benefit the PRC or Russia, for that matter, if Iran were in a position to acquire a nuclear weapon. Much to the contrary," Price said.
Price also shared that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani regarding the bombing of Erbil by an Iranian missile.
Blinken condemned the attack as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and expressed solidarity with them during his talk with Al-Kadhimi and Barzini. Blinken raised that the American government will hold Iran accountable for the attack by aiding the Iraqi government on it.
In line with the attack, Price pointed out the threat Iraq has to the allies of the United States in the region. This is why Iran should be "permanently constrained from obtaining a nuclear weapon." This goal, Price said, is the focus of the department and the rest of the Biden Administration.
