Those opposing the Iran nuke talks in Washington are pressing the US administration to nix the negotiations as they have been moving at a languid pace.
Republicans raised the alarm in a letter they wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration to pull out of unproductive talks and adopt a harsher stance against the cleric-led regime in Iran.
In the letter, legislators warned that Iran is trying to buy time in negotiations to develop its nuclear weapons, stressing that Tehran’s atomic provocations, while impeding progress in talks, prove its evil intentions.
“Iran’s growing nuclear provocations, while stalling progress in negotiations are the epitome of bad faith,” the lawmakers wrote.
Roughly 110 lawmakers asked Blinken to enforce existing sanctions against Tehran that were imposed after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.
“The US and our partners must increase pressure on Iran to stop its dangerous nuclear advancements,” they wrote.
“The most effective way to do so is to strongly enforce our existing sanctions and urge our partners to take similar steps. If Iran is not prepared to negotiate as things stand, we need to build our leverage to compel them to negotiate a better, stricter deal with no sunsets.”
Moreover, the legislators addressed the threat of oil trade between Iran and China.
“As a first, immediate step, the Administration must enforce penalties against China’s flagrant violations of US sanctions on Iran’s oil trade,” said the lawmakers.
“Iran’s oil shipments are now worth at least $1.3 billion per month, despite the fact that US sanctions are still in effect,” they added.
Reports in November showed that China continued to import an average of over half a million barrels of Iranian oil per day.
“It is well past time for the Administration to end these farcical negotiations and fully enforce our existing sanctions to slash this vital source of revenue for the Iranian regime,” concluded the lawmakers.
