U.S. Representative Darren Soto signed a bipartisan letter from 21 Members of Congress urging the Biden Administration to address concerns surrounding the looming agreement with Iran. With reports indicating that the Vienna negotiations are nearing conclusion, there are several critical concerning issues that remain on the table — including the potential lifting of the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and of sanctions placed on the Supreme Leader.
The letter that Central Florida Rep. Soto signed also reminded President Joe Biden that Secretary of State Antony Blinken committed to maintaining terrorism–related sanctions on Iran in his nomination hearing, adding that “lifting, waiving, or rescinding terrorism–related sanctions will violate his previous commitment to Congress.”
“We hope that no agreement is finalized without additionally addressing these concerns,” the Members wrote to President Biden this week. “Without adequately addressing Iran’s role as the world’s leading state-sponsor of terror — which was noticeably absent from the 2015 JCPOA — and simultaneously providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief, the United States would be providing a clear path for Iranian proxies to continue fueling terrorism.”
“Our support will be contingent largely on satisfactory answers to the following questions,” the Members added.
The questions include a range of topics including whether the Administration plans to bring the agreement to Congress pursuant to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), Iran’s estimated breakout time when the agreement is implemented, and what recourse the U.S. will have should Iran violate the agreement after the snapback mechanism in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 expires in 2025.
The full signatory list of 21 Members includes Josh Gottheimer, Elaine Luria, Tom Reed, Don Bacon, Jim Costa, Brian Fitzpatrick, Jared Golden, Vicente Gonzalez, Anthony Gonzalez, Jaime Herrera Beutler, David P. Joyce, Susie Lee, Peter Meijer, Dan Meuser, Donald Norcross, Dean Phillips, Darren Soto, Haley Stevens, Thomas R. Suozzi, Fred Upton, and Juan Vargas.
Full text of the letter can be found here.
