FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Costello
Phone: 202-386-6325
Email: [email protected]

Washington, DC – Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council and author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy, issued the following statement in advance of President Trump’s upcoming certification decision on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal:

“Trump will be courting nuclear disaster and war if he follows through on his disastrous threats to decertify the Iran nuclear deal and aggressively escalate tensions in the region this week. Yet, particularly in light of the apt descriptions of the White House as a daycare center for a President who can’t be trusted to avoid tweeting us into a disastrous war, it appears almost certain that Trump will follow through on his impetuous and destructive threats.

“A failed certification would be the first step to unraveling the Iran nuclear deal and taking us to a new, devastating war of choice in the Middle East. Congress would be empowered to kill the accord through the front door by snapping back sanctions, or to kill it through the back door by moving the goalposts on sanctions relief. Further, Trump himself may find it impossible to sustain the accord later following a declaration that the JCPOA is not in the national interest.

“No serious thinkers support withholding certification. The IAEA has affirmed Iran’s compliance in eight reports and numerous statements. Trump’s national security advisers have twice convinced a reluctant President to certify, and support staying in the JCPOA. Our European allies, Russia and China all support the deal and oppose any effort to re-open it. The only voices in support are old Iraq war champions and a new age of uber-hawks eager to fracture the accord and bomb Iran.

“The risks are too great to allow Trump to open up a nuclear pandora’s box in the Middle East. Trump’s national security team, and all serious thinkers in Congress, must block the President from a failed certification before it is too late.”

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