Bipartisan Senate Group Urge Biden to Deter Iran

 Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (L) and Republican Lindsey Graham (AFP/File photos)
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (L) and Republican Lindsey Graham (AFP/File photos)
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Bipartisan Senate Group Urge Biden to Deter Iran

 Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (L) and Republican Lindsey Graham (AFP/File photos)
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (L) and Republican Lindsey Graham (AFP/File photos)

A group of Republican and Democratic senators sent Thursday a letter to President Joe Biden outlining the need to use the full force of Washington’s diplomatic and economic tools to reach an agreement that prevents Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons and constrains its destabilizing activity throughout the Middle East.

“Democrats and Republicans may have tactical differences, but we are united on preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and addressing the wide range of illicit Iranian behavior,” the senators wrote in a letter led by the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Mendez and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

Signed by 43 Senators, the letter came as the Democrat Biden’s administration explores ways to restore the nuclear pact that Iran signed with the US and other world powers, but was abandoned in 2018 by then-President Donald Trump.

While recognizing their differing views on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of 2015, the Senators who signed the letter said the US must confront the reality that Iran has accelerated its nuclear activity in alarming ways including increasing its centrifuge research and production and enriching uranium up to 20 percent.

The signatories also agreed that outside of its nuclear program, Iran continues to pose a threat to US and international security through exporting arms, including highly accurate missiles, supporting militias that target US service members, and supporting terrorist organizations and other malign actors throughout the region.

The letter also echoed concern about Iran’s continued human rights abuses of its citizens and the increasing size and capabilities of its ballistic and cruise missile programs.



Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Ukraine asked the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the alleged use of banned toxic munitions by Russia against its forces.

A request to establish an investigation was submitted by Kyiv to the governing body of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

It followed Dutch and German intelligence agencies on Friday saying they had evidence of widespread use of illegal weapons by Russia along the frontline.

Agency chief Fernando Arias said in a statement to the OPCW's Executive Council that in view of the alleged frequent use of dangerous chemical agents his office would step up monitoring of activity along the Russia-Ukraine conflict line, Reuters reportf.

He invited Ukraine to discuss its proposal with member states, a majority of whom may be needed to support such an investigation.

The OPCW created a similar team in 2018 to examine accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria. The Investigation and Identification Team found that Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants had used banned chemical weapons in the civil war that began in March 2011. The United States first accused Russia in May last year of using chloropicrin, a chemical compound more toxic than riot control agents and first used by Germany during World War One. The OPCW, a disarmament agency in The Hague with 193 member states, said last year that initial accusations levelled by both countries at each other were "insufficiently substantiated".

Both sides have denied using chemical weapons in the conflict, which escalated when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"Ukraine hereby requests the Director-General of the OPCW to take steps towards establishing an independent and impartial mechanism (to) investigate cases of alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine," a copy of the request shared with Reuters said.

It asked that the mechanism be empowered to "collect additional evidence and identify perpetrators, organisers, sponsors of such use."

It was submitted at the beginning of four days of closed-door meetings by the 41-country Executive Council of the OPCW. The disarmament body had no immediate comment on the request.

At least three Ukrainian deaths have been tied to chemical weapons use, the Dutch Military Intelligence Agency said, while more than 2,500 people injured on the battlefield reported chemical weapons-related symptoms to Ukrainian health authorities.

On Monday, Britain targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.