FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 23, 2020
CONTACT: Mana Mostatabi | 202.386.6325 x103 | [email protected]

Washington DC – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), issued the following statement on the letter from 150 Members of the House of Representatives conveying broad Congressional support for President-elect Biden to return to the Iran nuclear deal:

“Joe Biden will inherit a far worse situation with Iran than his predecessor, Donald Trump. Returning to the nuclear deal with Iran will be the only credible and proven path for the President Elect to reverse Trump’s failures, deescalate across the region, ease the sanctions pressure crushing the Iranian people and restore long-lasting restraints to Iran’s nuclear program. 

“The letter finalized today from key foreign policy leaders in the House is a strong opening signal that Biden will have the Congressional support he needs to restore American compliance with the deal and that the agreement enjoys even more political support today than when it was originally struck.  Notably, the signers include lawmakers who previously opposed the diplomatic agreement. The last four years have clearly demonstrated what works and what doesn’t work with Iran. The pressure-only approach led to Iran escalating its nuclear program, regional tensions skyrocketing, and sanctions that have devastated the lives of average Iranians. On the other hand, multilateral diplomacy removed the twin threats of war and an Iranian nuclear weapon. Trump’s bluster and rejection of the nuclear deal returned those threats to the fore. Biden has a narrow window of opportunity at the start of his presidency to undo Trump’s mess.

“Restoring American leadership starts with honoring our diplomatic commitments. President Elect Biden, as well as Reps. Price, Lee, Schakowsky, Meeks, Castro, Sherman and Spanberger, deserve tremendous credit for recognizing that includes immediately restoring U.S. compliance with the Iran nuclear deal.”