Congress Warns Biden of Making ‘Concessions’ to Iran

Senator Bob Menendez with Senator Jim Risch (File photo: AFP)
Senator Bob Menendez with Senator Jim Risch (File photo: AFP)
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Congress Warns Biden of Making ‘Concessions’ to Iran

Senator Bob Menendez with Senator Jim Risch (File photo: AFP)
Senator Bob Menendez with Senator Jim Risch (File photo: AFP)

Republican and Democratic lawmakers warned the US administration against removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from terrorism lists in exchange for Tehran's possible return to the nuclear agreement.

Lawmakers were furious after a two-hour closed briefing with the US Special Envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, on the updates of the Iran nuclear negotiations.

After the meeting, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee came out with any questions about the size of the Biden administration's concessions to the Iranian regime.

Top Republican in the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, issued a scathing statement after the briefing, expressing his extreme anger at "the concessions this administration is considering placating the Iranian regime."

Risch's statement is based on information provided by Malley and US security advisor Brett McGurk.

"A deal that provides $90-$130 billion in sanctions relief relieves sanctions against Iran's worst terror and human rights offenders, and delists the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] does not support our national security interests,” Risch said.

He warned that the agreement would enable Putin to continue to build his nuclear arsenal and benefit financially amid his aggression against Ukraine.

The Senator reiterated his previous calls for the administration to withdraw from the negotiations, pointing out that US allies in the Middle East and bipartisan lawmakers object to efforts to return to the agreement with Iran.

Democratic concern

Malley's classified briefing highlighted significant Democratic disagreements with the Biden administration in its efforts to return to the nuclear deal.

Several Democratic lawmakers are joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez in expressing their concern about the deal, namely in delisting the IRGC.

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin publicly criticized the possibility of removing the IRGC from the blacklist.

"I certainly would very much like to maintain that they are a terrorist organization because they are a terrorist organization," Cardin said.

"I recognize that negotiations will do things sometimes that some of us don't like. So, I'm not going to try to draw red lines. But that designation should remain."

Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a letter to the White House warning against delisting the Corps, saying Iran's nuclear program and activities are not limited to the Middle East through Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, but extend to the rest of the world.

Republican pressure

The Republicans intensified their legislative efforts to oppose any agreement with Tehran.

Over 80 Republican Congressmen sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to object to delisting the IRGC as a terror group.

The letter described the IRGC as one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world, saying it is responsible for the death of 600 US servicemen during the US occupation in Iraq.

Furthermore, 49 of the 50 Republicans at the Senate told Biden, democrats, and the international community that an Iran agreement without broad congressional support would not survive.

"Republicans have made it clear: We would be willing and eager to support an Iran policy that completely blocks Iran's path to a nuclear weapons capability, constrains Iran's ballistic missile program, and confronts Iran's support for terrorism,” they said in a letter to Biden last week.

They warned that if the administration agrees to a deal that fails to achieve these objectives or makes achieving them more complex, Republicans will do everything to reverse it.

"Unless Iran ceases its support for terrorism, we will oppose removing and seek to reimpose any terrorism-related sanctions. And we will force the Senate to vote on any Administration effort to do so,” the letter concluded.



Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said.

The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from office of a mayor from the country's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish armed group, is seen as a hardening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s policies toward the opposition.

It also raises questions about the prospects of a tentative new peace effort to end a 40-year conflict between the group and the state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths.

The mayors of the mainly Kurdish-populated provincial capitals of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district mayor for Halfeti, in Sanliurfa province, were ousted from office over their past convictions or ongoing trials and investigations for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

The mayors are members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, which is the third-largest party represented in Parliament. They were elected to office in local elections in March.

Last month, the leader of the far-right nationalist party that’s allied with Erdogan had raised the possibility that the PKK's imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization. His comments had sparked discussion and speculation about a potential peace effort.

Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Türkiye’s main opposition party, CHP, branded the mayors' removal from office as a “a coup” and accused Erdogan of seizing “municipalities” he could not win in the elections.

Politicians and members of Türkiye’s pro-Kurdish movement have frequently been targeted over alleged links to the PKK, which is considered a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union.

Legislators have been stripped of their parliamentary seats and mayors removed from office. Several lawmakers as well as thousands of party members have been jailed on terror-related charges since 2016.

“We will not step back from our struggle for democracy, peace and freedom,” Ahmet Turk, the ousted mayor of Mardin, wrote on the social platform X. “We will not allow the usurpation of the people’s will.”