Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to exert influence beyond the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine may have raised the stakes even higher in the negotiations to re-enter the nuclear deal with Iran.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5) told The Jewish Link that there are indications Russia may be looking to inject itself into any agreement with Iran. “We’re already starting to see how Russia is hijacking the Vienna negotiations and trying to use them as a venue to strong-arm the P5+1 into weakening sanctions,” said Gottheimer, referring to the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States plus Germany.
“On top of that, reports indicate that Russia will be handling Iran’s stock of enriched uranium,” he warned. “If the nuclear deal is finalized, it would be absurd to have Putin presumably be the de facto judge of compliance.”
Gottheimer was among a trio of legislators, which also included Elaine Luria (D-VA) and Tom Reed (R-NY), that led 21 members of Congress urging the Biden administration to address such concerns as what Iran’s breakout time will be and how will it be calculated, will human rights programs continue, how much money Iran would get immediate access to if sanctions are lifted, what resources will the U.S. have should Iran violate the agreement and if Iran subsequently believes the agreement has been violated or it has not received the promised sanctions relief, will Russia be in a position to return enriched uranium to Iran?
A letter from the group was sent March 10 to President Joe Biden, with a copy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that reports indicate that as the negotiations near their conclusion there are several unresolved critical areas of concern among the signatories, including the potential lifting of the Foreign Terrorist Organization designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and of sanctions placed on the Supreme Leader.
“As negotiators continue their work, we must not forget where money will be funneled if terrorist sanctions are lifted on Iran,” said Gottheimer in a prepared statement. “Iran’s nuclear program and terrorist activities are not only regionally focused in the Middle East with Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but also across the rest of the world. Iran’s actions also continue to threaten the security and stability of our key ally Israel, and the entire region.”
He noted that Iran has “actively financed a robust worldwide network of proxy groups that host terror cells in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and even in the United States.”
“We need to address these concerns, so that we can combat the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” added Gottheimer.
In their letter, the congressional members stated that “since the beginning of this administration, we have hoped that renewed negotiations with Iran would achieve a longer and stronger agreement than the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), with clear nuclear restrictions and provisions addressing Iran’s international terror and missile programs.”
Calling Iran “the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” a designation they said was “noticeably absent” from the 2015 JCPOA, the agreement fails to adequately address Iran’s role in international terrorism while simultaneously providing billions in sanctions relief providing “a clear path” for Iranian proxies to continue fueling terrorism, according to the letter.
It also cited Blinken’s pledge during his confirmation hearing to maintain terrorism-related sanctions on Iran.
“Lifting, waiving or rescinding terrorism-related sanctions will violate his previous commitment to Congress,” sated the letter. “ We will review any agreement closely, but from what we currently understand, it is hard to envision supporting an agreement along the lines being publicly discussed.”
“We hope that no agreement is finalized without additionally addressing these concerns,” it stated, adding that support will be contingent largely on satisfactory answers to the 16 questions posed.
Other regional signatories to the letter are Donald Norcross (D-1) in New Jersey and Thomas Suozzi (D-3) in New York.
By Debra Rubin
