Congressional Republicans are troubled by President Joe Biden’s offers to restart nuclear talks with Iran. The concern comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken relayed Thursday that the administration is ready to begin negotiating.
The uproar from the Republican caucus was swift. Rep. Mike Turner (R-TN) issued the following statement Friday afternoon:
I’m disappointed that the Biden Administration has already ceded critical ground by signaling their intention to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. The JCPOA is a significantly flawed agreement where major provisions are set to expire, and the Biden Administration should not reenter into negotiations with Iran without securing permanent prohibitions on Iran nuclear ambitions.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) wrote, “Yesterday’s U.S.-E3 statement on the Iran nuclear deal raises big questions. Let’s take a closer look. The Biden Team pledges that if Iran takes some modest steps to re-enter the deal, we’ll lift vast & powerful sanctions that took years to impose.”
Sen. Joni Ernst tweeted, “The U.S. must remain vigilant against Iran and the terrorists they support around the globe who wish to do harm to America. Now is not the time to let up on the maximum pressure campaign against Iran or consider re-entering the failed Iran Nuclear Deal.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan scheduled a press interview on CNN Friday afternoon to defend the Administration, saying that “Iran is presently threatening to move even further out of compliance.”
But moving out of compliance is nothing new for Iran. European officials formally accused Tehran of violating the 2015 deal, “Hoping the agreement would be restored once Mr. Trump left office,” and trying to outlast the former administration’s “toughest ever” sanctions.
“Iran has proven they are no friend of the United States,” Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) tweeted. “The Iran Nuclear Deal is a horrible policy that does nothing to stop Iran from growing its nuclear arsenal and will make the world less safe.”