WASHINGTON — Alabama’s six Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a bipartisan letter along with 361 other members of Congress to the President, reminding Obama that any deal with Iran must ensure the nation does not have the ability to build a nuclear bomb.
Talks with Iran, which are rapidly approaching their March 31st deadline, have stalled in recent weeks as it has become clear that Congress and President Obama are taking drastically different approaches with the adversarial nation.
This letter differs from the controversial letter sent by 47 GOP members of the Senate to Iran’s leaders in a few ways. This letter was instead sent to President Obama directly, and over 100 Democratic members of the House signed on, making it a strong bipartisan effort. Other than that, it sends the same message: any deal with Iran needs Congress’s stamp of approval.
“A final comprehensive nuclear agreement must constrain Iran’s nuclear infrastructure so that Iran has no pathway to a bomb and that agreement must be long-lasting,” the letter says. “As the Administration continues to negotiate with Iran, we are prepared to evaluate any agreement to determine its long-term impact on the United States and our allies.”
In the letter, the members of Congress highlight the necessity of the United States using foreign policy to keep Iran from acting as a further destabilizing agent in the region.
“The United States has had a longstanding interest in preventing Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability. Over the last twenty years, Congress has passed numerous pieces of legislation imposing sanctions on Iran to prevent that outcome, ultimately forcing Iran to negotiations. Should an agreement with Iran be reached, permanent sanctions relief from congressionally-mandated sanctions would require new legislation. In reviewing such an agreement, Congress must be convinced that its terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb, and only then will Congress be able to consider permanent sanctions relief.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
