A group of US senators warned against returning to the JCPOA
More than 40 US senators have warned Biden in a letter against returning to the JCPOA. They have called for a “combination of political and economic pressure” on Iran to force the Islamic Republic to abandon its nuclear program.
A number of US senators from both major parties have urged President Joe Biden to be cautious about returning to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) in a letter written by two senior senators, Democratic Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Menendez and Republican Lindsey Graham.
They told Biden in the letter that he should consider the fact that Iran has further developed its nuclear program.
Senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties emphasize that they may have different views on former President Trump's "maximum pressure" policy, but they share concerns that Iran has increased its uranium enrichment program to 20 percent.
43 US senators state: "Democratic and Republican representatives may have tactical differences in how to deal with Iran, but we all agree on opposing Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons and on the need to confront Iran's misbehavior."
In their letter, the senators urged Biden: "You must use diplomatic and economic tools, in coordination with our allies in the UN Security Council and in the region, to ensure that Iran is never able to obtain a nuclear weapon and to cease its missile program and insecurity activities throughout the Middle East."
The United States unilaterally withdrew from the major powers' nuclear agreement with Iran (JCPOA) in May 2018.
The Biden administration has said it wants a broader deal with Iran that goes beyond the nuclear program to include both the Islamic Republic's missile program and "Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East."
On the evening of Wednesday, March 24, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a joint press conference with Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy coordinator, emphasized the United States' desire to preserve the JCPOA nuclear agreement.
Both politicians called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to remain faithful to its nuclear commitments.
At the end of the two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, the US Secretary of State once again emphasized his country's desire for diplomatic engagement with Iran; however, he clarified: "We want a stronger and longer-term agreement. An agreement that also includes Iran's ballistic missile program and the problematic issues for the stability of the countries in the region."
