Four top Senate Republicans called on President Joe Biden on April 6 not to reenter the Iran nuclear deal and to continue sanctions against the Islamic Republic, on the day of indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Vienna.
“The United States must not relinquish its leverage over the Iranian regime just to return to the JCPOA, a severely flawed agreement that undermines our national security interests due to its arbitrary sunsets and limited scope,” the senators said in the letter, referring to the sanctions as “an enormous amount of leverage.”
“Unfortunately, recent comments from Administration officials suggest that is exactly what the U.S. intends to offer Tehran.”
U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley told the BBC last month: “The maximum pressure campaign has failed. ... It hasn’t brought us any closer to this better deal that President [Donald] Trump spoke about. It’s been bad for the U.S., for Iran, and for the region.”
“We urge your Administration to reset its approach immediately. Members of Congress rejected the JCPOA on a bipartisan basis in 2015,” the four senators continued in their letter. “Returning to the JCPOA is not a recipe for a sustainable Iran policy, and will not protect U.S. national security interests.”
The White House didn’t respond to a request from The Epoch Times for comment by press time.
“That is what we aspire over the longer term to achieve—that mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA. It’s precisely what President Biden—then-candidate Biden—laid out on the campaign trail,” Price said.
The talks are expected to resume on April 9.