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July 14, 2015

NIAC Applauds Historic Iran Deal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Trita Parsi
Phone: 202-386-6325

Washington, D.C. – National Iranian American Council (“NIAC”) President Trita Parsi issued the following statement regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”) agreed to by the United States, its P5+1 partners, and Iran today:

Two years ago, diplomacy was at a standstill and war looked inevitable. Negotiations had stalled, and the diplomatic route lacked support. Today, diplomacy has triumphed and war is off the table. The United States and Iran have turned the tide on decades of enmity and instead have secured a nuclear deal that promises a better and brighter future. Major world powers and Iran have sealed a final nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – and heralded the greatest diplomatic achievement of the new millennium.

NIAC congratulates President Obama and President Rouhani, Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif, and all of the diplomats that have showed the courage and confidence to undertake these negotiations for peacefully resolving the decades-old nuclear dispute. History will look kindly on their efforts.

To get here, the road has been difficult. The hurdles were immense. But the patience and persistence of all parties shows that peace is possible when diplomats are allowed the necessary room to resolve conflict and achieve compromise. It took almost two years of continuous negotiations to seal this deal, but today, the world is better off because of their courageous efforts.

And yet, we knew that diplomacy was the only course available to the parties to fully resolve the nuclear issue and move on to bigger and better things. War would only make a future deal next to impossible, embroiling the U.S. and Iran in perpetual conflict. Some wanted to see that; we didn’t.

With a nuclear deal in hand, we who urged that the U.S. and Iran must give diplomacy a chance have been proven right. Peace was possible, provided that the right policies were adopted and backed with sufficient political will.

Even more important, we now know that the U.S. and Iran need not remain hostile enemies, but can interact with each other to achieve shared interests. This nuclear deal provides clear evidence. The time is ripe to build on the relationships the two sides have developed over the course of negotiations and pursue those shared interests, whether they involve countering ISIS/ISIL, resolving the conflict in Afghanistan, or combating narcotics trafficking.

Moreover, this deal provides the Iranian people with the space to push Iran in the right direction: an Iran that respects human rights, pursues moderate policies internally and externally, and provides its people with the freedoms and opportunities that are their true inalienable rights.

Our negotiators have done their job to win a strong nuclear deal that prevents an Iranian nuclear weapon, all the while avoiding a catastrophic war. Now is the time for Congress to do theirs. Make no mistake: if Congress rejects this good deal with Iran, there will be no better deal forthcoming and Congress will be left owning an unnecessary war. 

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The National Iranian American Council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the voice of Iranian Americans and promoting greater understanding between the American and Iranian people.

 

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