A group of 49 Republican senators on Monday said they will not support the Biden administration’s new nuclear deal with Iran, vowing to "reverse" any agreement that weakens sanctions and lessens restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Every Republican senator except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky signed on to a statement Monday directed to President Biden, Democrats and the international community, warning that a "major agreement that does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive."
According to press reports, the Biden administration may soon conclude an agreement with Iran to provide substantial sanctions relief in exchange for merely short-term limitations on Iran’s nuclear program," the Republican senators wrote.
"By every indication, the Biden administration appears to have given away the store," they continued, adding that the Biden administration "appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuses of human rights."
"The nuclear limitations in this new deal appear to be significantly less restrictive than the 2015 nuclear deal, which was itself too weak, and will sharply undermine U.S. leverage to secure an actually ‘longer and stronger’ deal," they said. "What is more, the deal appears likely to deepen Iran’s financial and security relationship with Moscow and Beijing, including through arms sales."
Republicans criticized the Biden administration for having "refused to commit to submit a new Iran deal to the Senate for ratification as a treaty, as per its constitutional obligation, or for review under statutory requirements that passed on a bipartisan basis in response to the 2015 deal."
"Additionally, despite earlier promises to the contrary, the administration has failed to adequately consult with Congress," they added.
