Bipartisan Congressional Pressure on Biden to Prevent ‘Bad Deal’ with Iran

US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
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Bipartisan Congressional Pressure on Biden to Prevent ‘Bad Deal’ with Iran

US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)

In light of the increasing momentum to revive negotiations between Western capitals and Tehran over the Iranian nuclear program, 26 Democratic and Republican senators have intensified pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to prevent it from hastily concluding an agreement they fear could be “bad.”

This comes simultaneously with reports of the European-Iranian talks entering a phase of addressing contentious issues related to uranium enrichment levels and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

These developments coincided with the approval of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives on a bill that abolishes the so-called “sunset clause” on sanctions imposed since 1996, replacing it with “permanent sanctions” on Iran in order to prevent it from producing any nuclear weapons.

In other news, CNN, quoting a source who requested anonymity, reported on a two-day discussion in Doha between European Union diplomat Enrique Mora and the Iranian top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Talks focused on key sticking points, including nuclear enrichment levels and Iranian cooperation with the IAEA, the diplomatic source, who was briefed on the matter, told CNN.

Additionally, the source said the talks appear to be “leading to positive developments on many issues.”

“The current environment has been positive for de-escalation,” added the source.

Mora on Twitter described the talks as “intense,” and Kani tweeted earlier that the two had a “serious and constructive meeting on a range of issues, including “negotiations on sanctions lifting” – a key priority for Tehran.

The meeting came a week after Kani met with officials from the signatories to the deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – France, Germany and the UK.

US and Iranian parties resumed indirect talks late last year, with senior US official Brett McGurk traveling multiple times to Oman for indirect discussions with representatives of the Iranian government.

The Biden administration hopes to achieve at least three demands in these negotiations: curtailing Iran’s nuclear program in the field of atomic weapons development, ceasing attacks by the Iranian proxies against US forces in Syria, and releasing three long-held American prisoners in Iran.

As more signs show renewed contacts between Iran and the West, the 26 senators asked Biden not to rush into a bad agreement.

They expressed their concern over reports that the administration is trying to reach a limited nuclear deal with Iran, which it apparently intends to keep out of the US Congress by not signing a formal document.

“It is crucial for your administration to remain aligned with Congressional efforts related to Iran’s nuclear program and not agree to a pact that fails to achieve our nation’s critical interests,” the letter said.



Zelenskiy Praises Killing of Top Russian Military Figures 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (not pictured) during a state visit, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (not pictured) during a state visit, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Zelenskiy Praises Killing of Top Russian Military Figures 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (not pictured) during a state visit, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the media with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa (not pictured) during a state visit, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised Ukraine's foreign intelligence service on Monday for the killing of top Russian military figures since the start of the war, but made no mention of a car bomb that killed a senior Russian officer last week.

The Kremlin has blamed Ukraine for last Friday's car bomb outside Moscow that killed Yaroslav Moskalik, 59, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

Authorities in Kyiv have made no direct comment on the attack on Moskalik, the latest in a series of Russian military officers and pro-war figures killed since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskiy's remarks, on the Telegram messaging app, made no reference to any specific instance of Russian military officers being killed.

"The head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence reported on the liquidation of persons from the top command of the Russian armed forces. Justice inevitably is done," Zelenskiy said, referring to the agency's head, Oleg Ivashchenko.

"The head reported on further measures to counter Russian agent networks in Ukraine and saboteurs. Good results. Thank you for your work," the president said.

Ukraine's SBU intelligence service said it killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, a top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops, last December in Moscow.

A Moscow court at the weekend ordered a Ukrainian national facing terrorism charges in connection with the attack on Moskalik to be remanded in custody.

A Moskalik obituary published on Tuesday in the Russian defense ministry's official newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda and signed by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, his deputies and top army commanders, described Moskalik as a "loyal son" of Russia.

It said that since the start of the war, which the obituary in line with the Kremlin's stance called "a special military operation", Moskalik supervised the works of the General Staff's combat control group. It did not provide details on what that position involved.

According to the obituary, from 2015 to 2021 Moskalik was involved in Russian defense ministry's international delegations working on issues relating to southeastern Ukraine. He was "responsible for preparing materials for the Russian president on the situation in southeastern Ukraine", the obituary said.