TELL CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS TO URGE BIDEN TO LEAVE VIENNA TALKS AND EXERT MAXIMUM PRESSURE
StopIranNow.org - ACTION ALERT - Urgent Update January 28, 2022
STOP IRAN NOW CALLS ON DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS TO JOIN THE 110 REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS WHO HAVE WRITTEN TO JOE BIDEN AND URGED HIM TO WITHDRAW FROM THE TALKS IN VIENNA.
In addition to the important points raised in the Republican letter - it is now apparent that the Biden Administration is abandoning its promise for a "longer and stronger" deal. We are concerned that Biden is on the verge of removing sanctions which will provide the regime in Tehran with billions of dollars without addressing the brutal regime's terrorism, egregious human rights violations, regional aggression or the holding of American and European hostages. Iran has used money reaped from past sanctions relief to finance these nefarious activities - and will do so again.
We are also concerned that the parties have not addressed the Iran deal's sunset provisions and fundamental flaws - or Iran's ballistic missile development.
BACKGROUND:
Via the Washington Free Beacon/Adam Kredo
A coalition of more than 100 Republican lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration to abandon negotiations with Iran aimed at securing a revamped nuclear agreement, according to a letter sent Wednesday to the State Department and obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.
"We write to urge you to immediately withdraw from the fruitless Vienna talks to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and instead strongly enforce existing sanctions against Iran, particularly with respect to the oil trade between Iran and the People's Republic of China," the lawmakers write in a letter spearheaded by House Foreign Affairs ranking member Michael McCaul (R., Texas) and cosigned by 109 other lawmakers. "Further delay of action on this only further enables Iran's malign activities, including their aggressive nuclear pursuits."
The letter is a sign that Republicans are united against reentering the 2015 accord. It also comes as negotiations with Tehran drag into a second year, with the Iranian regime demanding further concessions from the Biden administration, including the full reversal of sanctions on the country's nuclear program and regional terrorism enterprise.
As diplomatic talks resume after months of delays, Iran has greatly expanded its nuclear program, including its enrichment of uranium, a main component in an atomic weapon. Iran is now enriching and stockpiling highly enriched uranium, which can only used for a bomb. This work has continued in the face of ongoing sanctions and opposition from the international community. Senior Biden administration officials have acknowledged in recent weeks that Iran is stalling negotiations while it advances its nuclear program.
"Iran is charging forward with its nuclear program, using advanced centrifuges and producing equipment for such centrifuges while stockpiling increasing quantities of uranium enriched at 20 percent and 60 percent purity," the GOP lawmakers write. "Iran also continues to gain irreversible knowledge through this nuclear work. While the Administration has consistently indicated a willingness to negotiate toward a return to the JCPOA, Iran has made a return even less valuable for the [international community] as it makes greater nuclear gains and gets closer to the deal's sunsets."
The letter notes that Iran also refuses to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency's oversight work, blocking inspectors and preventing them from accessing contested nuclear sites. Iran's intransigence is "further diminishing the world’s visibility on Iran's nuclear program," the lawmakers say.
Only increased sanctions and full enforcement of restrictions will stop Iran's march toward a nuclear weapon, not endless negotiations in Vienna, the lawmakers maintain.
Iran's illicit oil shipments, which skyrocketed in 2021 as China boosted its imports—as the Free Beacon first reported last week—are the latest flashpoint in the talks. The Biden administration says it is prepared to lift all sanctions on Iran's oil sector, drawing ire from Republicans who say this decision will give Iran access to billions of dollars in cash windfalls. In turn, the regime can use that money to fuel terror attacks on the United States and its allies in the region.
Republican lawmakers want the Biden administration to immediately issue new sanctions on Iran for its ongoing illicit oil shipments to China, Venezuela, Russia, and other countries. Iran is taking in at least $1.3 billion a month from these sales, the lawmakers disclose.
"Reports in November showed that [China] continued to import an average of over half a million barrels of Iranian oil per day," according to the Republicans. "It is well past time for the Administration to end these farcical negotiations and fully enforce our existing sanctions to slash this vital source of revenue for the Iranian regime."
ACTION PLANS
ACTION PLAN 1: CONTACT YOUR UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN AND SENATOR. IF THEY HAVE ALREADY SIGNED THE LETTER EXPRESS YOUR GRATITUDE. IF THEY HAVE NOT URGE THEM TO DO SO. THIS ISSUE MUST TRANSCEND PARTISAN POLITICS - THE UNITED STATES MUST NOT LEGITIMIZE, EMBOLDEN AND FINANCE EVIL. Let them know how important this issue is to you. At stake is our national security and our values.
HOW TO CONTACT YOU CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS:
How to Find Your United States
Representative:
How to Find Your United States Senator
ACTION PLAN 2: CONTACT THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT. URGE JOE BIDEN AND ANTONY BLINKIN TO ABANDON THE DANGEROUS AND DESPERATE TALKS IN VIENNA AND RESUME THE MAXIMUM PRESSURE CAMPAIGN. TELL THEM YOU WILL HOLD THEM AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ACCOUNTABLE FOR ENRICHING THIS ANTI-AMERICAN, ANTISEMITIC REGIME WHICH THREATENS ALL OF US.
THE WHITE HOUSE
PHONE NUMBERS
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
E-MAIL LINK - https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
ADDRESS FOR LETTERS:
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20500
THE STATE DEPARTMENT
(202) 647-6575
E-mail Link - https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform
Address
Office of Public Liaison Bureau of Global Public Affairs U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW, Room 2206 Washington, DC 20520-2204