Republican and Democratic Members of the House of Representatives Send Letter to President Obama on Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. – 395 Members of the
House of Representatives wrote President Obama to describe what they
believe must be included in any final agreement between the United
States and Iran regarding its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability.
The letter
was spearheaded by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and signed by 216 Republicans and 179 Democrats.
Leader Cantor said the following about the letter:
“The Congress is a co-equal branch of government, and it is
important that Members of Congress speak individually and as a body
about important foreign policy matters facing the United States. It is
hard to imagine a more dangerous threat to American national security
than the one posed by Iran, its support for terrorism, its efforts to
destabilize the Middle East, and its determined pursuit of a nuclear
weapons capability. I have profound concerns about the Administration’s
Iran policy, including the interim deal -- which allows Tehran to
continue modernizing its centrifuges and has taken too much
international pressure off Iran.
“I am proud to co-sign a letter to President Obama with
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and nearly 400 of our colleagues that puts the
House on record about what we expect in any further deals with Iran.
This letter represents a bipartisan consensus about the framework of
such a deal, and about the extraordinary inspections and verification
measures that must accompany any such deal. Iran must understand that
Congress will be united behind additional sanctions and other measures
if it does not meet these conditions and verifiably abandon its pursuit
of a nuclear weapons capability. In light of the dire nature of the
threat, I believe that military force must remain on the table to
prevent Iran from acquiring such a capability.
“Many members, including myself, have strong reservations
about the conduct of nuclear diplomacy to this point, and are concerned
about the lack of a broader strategy to confront Iran’s growing threats
to regional stability. For negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program to be
successful, they must be rooted in such a broader strategy. As this
letter makes clear, we ignore the nature of the regime in Tehran, and
its many threats to international peace and security, at our own peril.”
Read the full letter HERE.
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