Majority of US Lawmakers Demand End to Iran’s Nuclear Program

As talks resumed this week in Vienna between Iran and the West on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear-development program, 83 American senators argued that any final agreement must ensure that Iran “has no inherent right to enrichment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

A large majority of United States senators is demanding that President Barack Obama thwart Iran’s nuclear program.

Eighty-three senators out of 100 – at the initiative of Senators Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican – stated that any final agreement between the Six Global Powers and Iran must force Iran to dismantle its uranium-enrichment program – a demand that Iran has vehemently rejected.

In the House of Representative, 395 out of 435 lawmakers also sent a letter to the American president, urging him to make a deal only if it would prevent Iran from building – or buying – nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Draws Concern about State-Sponsored Terror

The letter states:

“Finally, although the P5+1 process is focused on Iran’s nuclear program, we remain deeply concerned by Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism, its horrendous human rights record, its efforts to destabilize its neighbors, its pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and its threats against our ally, Israel, as well as the fates of American citizens detained by Iran. We want to work with you to address these concerns as part of a broader strategy of dealing with Iran.”

Indeed, Israel’s recent Operation Full Disclosure, which blocked the delivery of Iranian lethal weapons to Gaza for use against innocent Israeli civilians, is another indication of the danger in allowing Iran’s nuclear program to continue.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) “chose to write his own statement,” the Washington Post says, telling the president:

“Recent press reports indicate that as nuclear negotiations resume in Vienna, Iranian oil exports may be on-track to exceed the terms of the interim deal and other nations are beginning to explore longer-term economic relationships with Iran. These developments undermine the international consensus to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. While I support the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Congress should consider clear consequences for Iran should they violate the Joint Plan of Action and move to ensure the president cannot grant sanctions relief as part of any final deal without congressional approval.”

“Significant majorities in the House and Senate do not trust the president when it comes to Iran,” the newspaper stated.

Indeed, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had served until recently under the Obama administration, told an American Jewish Congress gala in New York on Wednesday evening:

“The odds of reaching that comprehensive agreement [with Iran] are not good. President Obama has said that. I’m also personally skeptical that the Iranians would follow through and deliver. I have seen their behavior over years. But this is a development that is worth testing.”

Date: Mar. 20, 2014