Lawmakers Warn Biden Against Deal With Iran Before Consulting Congress

A bipartisan group of 50 US lawmakers have sounded the alarm on a looming agreement over Iran’s nuclear deal, urging the administration to immediately consult with Congress. 

The group, comprised of 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans led by Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), wrote to President Joe Biden on Thursday to express deep concern about reported provisions in the potential agreement with the Islamic Republic that they described as “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.” “If the regime in Iran has proven anything, it's that it can’t be trusted,” they said. 

Their concerns include weakening the effectiveness of terrorism-related sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and allowing Russia to have a role in nuclear projects with Iran — including a $10-billion contract to build atomic reactors.

“The IRGC has directly, or through its proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Ansar Allah (Houthis), Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and scores of Shiite militias in Iraq, killed hundreds of Americans, and attacked our bases and our allies in the region,” they said, noting that an estimated one trillion dollars in sanctions relief over a decade would strengthen Iran and the IRGC as an enormous danger to Americans at home and abroad. 

They also criticized the deal for enabling Russia to be “the de facto judge of compliance and the keeper of Iran’s enriched uranium, without any oversight mechanisms by the United States or our European partners.”