FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020
CONTACT: Mana Mostatabi | 202.386.6325 x103 | [email protected]
NIAC Statement on the Rep. Meek’s Selection as HFAC Chair
Washington D.C. – Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement regarding Rep. Gregory Meeks’ (D-NY) selection as the next Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee:
“Rep. Gregory Meeks is a strong supporter of diplomacy and a great choice to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 117th Congress. Meeks was vital to building support for diplomacy with Iran under the Obama administration and helped secure the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015, and knows his caucus and the committee intimately.
“It is refreshing that a proponent of a diplomacy-first approach who understands the costs of sanctions and war will be overseeing the Foreign Affairs Committee at a crucial inflection point for American diplomacy. We look forward to the Congressman helping the Biden administration return the U.S. and Iran to compliance with the Iran nuclear deal and then build on it through substantive negotiations. We also hope that the committee, under Meeks’ leadership, will bring in new voices and re-examine old assumptions underlying foreign policy, such as the harmful impacts of sanctions on human rights and civilian populations.
“We also congratulate Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX) on his competitive bid for the chair and the bold vision he charted for American foreign policy, and look forward to him continuing his leadership in the new Congress and on the Foreign Affairs Committee.”
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