In a broad show of bipartisan support for containing the threat of a nuclear-armedIran, all but one member of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committeesigned a letter to President Obama on Monday calling for him to increase pressure on the Islamic republic.Our diplomatic goal must be to reach a negotiated settlement in whichIranagrees to verifiably dismantle its nuclear weapons program, states the letter, signed by all of thecommittees Republicans and all but one of its Democrats. For this outcome to be realized,Iranmust face intensifying pressure.
The nuclear program has theObama administrationand its international allies at an impasse with Iranian leaders, who argue that the program is peaceful and not geared to developing weapons.
TheHousemembers who wrote to Mr. Obama on Monday, however, pointed to a report by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency the top nuclear watchdog group for theUnited Nations which cited an acceleration inIrans nuclear activities.
While the report stopped short of saying outright thatIranwas moving more quickly toward development of a nuclear warhead, lawmakers said recent findings could be read that way.
Tehran is dramatically expanding its nuclear infrastructure: installing advanced centrifuges which would quadruple the speed with whichIrancan enrich uranium, while continuing construction of a heavy water reactor which will permit a plutonium option, they wrote. Our diplomacy and sanctions strategies must reflect these dangerous realities.
Meanwhile, with the value ofIrans currency taking a nosedive in recent months, theObama administrationhas won praise from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill for leading a global embargo on Iranian crude oil and for imposing sanctions on the nations banking and automotive sectors.
But Mondays letter sheds light on the growing number of Democrats now onboard with what had been predominantly a Republican effort.
The letter also notably arrives on the heels ofIrans presidential election.
Some foreign policy analysts have argued that President-electHasan Rouhaniis more moderate than outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and, as a result, more likely to negotiate with the U.S. and other Western powers toward a peaceful dismantling of the Iranian nuclear program.
Foreign Affairs Committee members appeared eager to quash such assessments Monday.
Irans election unfortunately has done nothing to suggest a reversal ofIrans pursuit of a nuclear weapons capacity, the lawmakers wrote to Mr. Obama. President-electRouhani, who served as a nuclear negotiator forIranat a time its illicit program was well underway, indicated his support forIrans nuclear ambitions in his first post-election news conference.
Indeed, there appears nothing moderate about his nuclear policies, which are a continuation of the policies that have been roundly opposed by the international community, the letter to Mr. Obama states. Moreover, decisions aboutIrans nuclear program and foreign policy rest mainly in the hands ofIrans Supreme Leader Khamenei. Khamenei has recently reiterated his view thatIranhas no reason to normalize relations with the United States.
The committee praised the White House for issuing an executive order last month that expanded sanctions onIranto begin targeting the nations automotive and banking industry, but said Mr. Obama would be wise to increase the pressure onIranin the days ahead.
An added positive action would be extending sector-based sanctions to the mining, engineering, and construction-based sectors ofIran, the lawmakers wrote. We plan to strengthen sanctions with additional legislation already approved unanimously by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and now pending in the House of Representatives.
Delegate Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, American Samoa Democrat, was the only member of the committee who did not sign the letter.
Mr. Faleomavaega said Monday evening that while he respected the bipartisanship of the letter, he already fully supports the way theObama administrationis proceeding in handling this matter onIran.
By The Washington Times
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