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Press Release Published: Mar 30, 2022

Top House Republicans Sound Alarm Over Biden’s Attempt to Revive Flawed Iran Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON — House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), Subcommittee on National Security Ranking Member Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), Representative Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), and Oversight Republicans today raised concerns over reports indicating the Biden Administration is working to revive the flawed Obama-era Iran deal and provide the regime even more leniency to the detriment of American interests. In a letter to U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken, the Republican lawmakers request a briefing about the Biden Administration’s new nuclear negotiations with Iran. 

“We are conducting oversight of the Biden Administration’s attempt to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Media reports indicate Department of State staff are concerned that the Administration will provide Iran with an even more generous deal than the Obama Administration did in the initial JCPOA. The reports of ongoing negotiations with Iran raise serious concerns about why the Administration is willing to engage and provide U.S. taxpayer dollars to a country adverse to America’s interest.  Iran is a state sponsor of terror, and once in the possession of a nuclear capability, could weaponize it against our nation and our allies. The U.S. should not engage in negotiations with such a barbaric regime. President Biden’s refusal to allow ample access to domestic oil and gas resources calls into question his motives for cutting a deal that might allow Iran to export oil,” wrote the lawmakers.

Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Iran that were waived by President Obama’s JCPOA. Last year, President Biden took the misguided step to overturn President Trump’s restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran and the Administration’s new talks to revive the JCPOA are being led by Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley. As implemented, the JCPOA ignored malignant Iranian activity, including funding international terror organizations and ballistic missile development. Iran continues its hostile actions against American officials and assets, including a missile barrage that struck the U.S. consulate complex in northern Iraq on March 13, 2022. 

“Many believed the JCPOA did not sufficiently restrict Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons,” continued the lawmakers. “Further, recent news reports about Iran’s hostile actions against American officials and assets raise serious questions about the Biden Administration’s continued willingness to cooperate with Iran in any formal capacity… Instead of encouraging domestic energy production, the Administration appears to be bending over backwards to enable Iran’s re-entry into international oil markets in the coming months. We are very concerned that these new Iran nuclear negotiations by the Biden Administration will put Americans and the rest of the world at risk… We therefore request a staff-level briefing on President Biden’s pursuit to revive the JCPOA and the current nuclear non-proliferation strategy as soon as possible.”

The letter to Secretary Blinken can be found here