Conservative Group Tells White House It Intends To Sue Over Iran Deal
A possible lawsuit by a conservative legal group threatens to delay the implementation of a nuclear deal by the Biden Administration, reports said on Thursday.
The Washington Free Beacon reported on Thursday that America First Legal Foundation has notified the White House that it "intends to take legal action to block any Biden-Iran deal that is not submitted to Congress" for approval.
In a litigation notice letter sent to President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland, the Foundation says, “Please be advised that AFL intends to take legal action to block any BidenIran deal that is not submitted to Congress in full compliance with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.”
In the letter the group also argues that President Biden’s call for Iran and the United States to “mutually return” to the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA does not absolve the administration of its duty to comply with Iran Nuclear Agreement Act. It says that too many things have changed since the deal was signed in 2015, with Iran breaching its terms and sunset clauses either having passed or close to maturation. A new agreement in Vienna would not be simply the continuation of the JCPOA and therefore, it must be submitted to Congress for review and a vote.
The tactic of legal action could be aimed at making the White House think twice before concluding an agreement, although this has become more complicated since early March, when new Russian and Iranian demands brought the talks to a halt. Rep. Scott Perry (Rep-Pa) told the Free Beacon the threat of prolonged litigation "puts the administration on notice so that they think twice before proceeding."
If legal action is taken in the event of a final agreement, the group hopes that it could delay the deal’s implementation by a long litigation process.
Opposition to a new agreement has gained strength since reports indicted that Iran demands its Revolutionary Guard to be removed from the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). Almost all Republican lawmakers and some Democrats have come out opposing a deal with Iran that would provide billions of dollars in sanctions relief and cash funds currently frozen in various countries.
On Thursday, Rep, Claudia Tenney (Rep-NY) in an opinion piece in Newsweek argued that the Biden administration is avoiding Congress, She said US Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley is hiding from Congress.
The role of Russia in Vienna talks is another issue critics highlight, which has gained more traction since the invasion of Ukraine. Moscow appeared to be playing an important role in the talks in Vienna as a broker between Washington and Tehran. They say that Russia and possibly China designed a deal that would benefit them and Iran, which is a sworn enemy of the United States in the Middle East.
The America First Legal Foundation in its letter also warns the administration to preserve and protect all the records of the negotiations.
"You are on notice to cease and desist from deleting or destroying all records, including but not limited to emails, whether under an agency document destruction policy or otherwise," the notice said. It added that the Foundation "considers these records to be valuable and
