More than 160 House Republicans sent a letter to the Biden administration last week, denouncing the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran and demanding that any future agreement make a greater role for Congressional insight and approval.
“The Iranian regime brutally represses, persecutes, tortures, and murders its own people,” the House members wrote. “It wastes the Iranian people’s resources on terrorism, foreign aggression, missiles, and nuclear weapons capabilities. We hope to see the day where all U.S. sanctions on Iran can be lifted, when the U.S. and Iran can enjoy normalized relations and when the people of Iran have a government that respects human dignity. But that day will not come if you provide sanctions relief that will fuel the regime’s corruption and incompetence at the expense of the Iranian people.”
As one, the 165 members of the House threatened they would, among other things:
- Oppose any agreement that lifts U.S. sanctions on the Iranian regime without first verifying Iran has clarified its nuclear capabilities, dismantled enrichment capabilities, halted support for terrorists, released all U.S. prisoners, and paid U.S. federal court judgements awarded to American victims of terrorism sponsored by Iran.
- Dismiss any agreement not ratified by the Senate as non-binding.
- Endeavor to return and strengthen any terrorism, missile, or human rights sanctions lifted, suspended, or otherwise weakened by such an agreement.
- Investigate whether depending on Russia as intermediaries to revive the Iranian nuclear deal is weakening U.S. efforts to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere.