Congresswoman Tenney Joins Colleagues in Condemning JCPOA 2.0 and Ongoing IRGC Terrorism

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today joined Chairman Jim Banks and her colleagues on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) in introducing a resolution condemning the Biden Administration’s attempt to re-enter the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) otherwise known as the “Iran Deal.” Iran is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror, and negotiations to re-enter the JCPOA have been mediated by Russia, a rogue authoritarian regime whose recent unprovoked war on Ukraine sparked worldwide condemnation.

In April 2021, the RSC and former Secretary of State Pompeo announced the Maximum Pressure Act, to codify the Trump administration’s successful maximum pressure campaign on Iran. The Maximum Pressure Act is the toughest sanctions bill on Iran ever proposed by Congress and has since garnered 124 co-sponsors.

Today’s resolution opposes our reliance on Russia for reviving the JCPOA, removing terrorism sanctions on Iran while they continue funding terrorist activities, and restoring the JCPOA while the issue of Iran’s undeclared nuclear activities remains unresolved.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

Tenney said, “Instead of negotiating with the world’s leading state sponsor of terror through the rogue Russian regime, the United States must return to its policy of peace-through-strength, first championed by President Reagan. As it stands today, the Biden Administration’s renegotiated JCPOA will make the United States weaker and the world less safe. Further, rumored provisions to prevent the United States from reimposing sanctions on Iranian financial institutions could give Russia the workaround it needs to avoid sanctions levied in response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, undermining the United States’ strongest economic tool against Russia. It is time for the Biden Administration to kill these negotiations immediately.”

Former Secretary Pompeo said, “President Trump and I threw out the JCPOA and brought Iran to heel through a successful maximum pressure campaign. We gave successive administrations a roadmap to ensure our allies’ security and bring stability to the Middle East. The Biden administration plans to throw it all away. I’d like to thank Chairman Banks and the Republican Study Committee for sending a strong message to Tehran: any deal that enriches Iranian terrorists won’t last. Republicans know how to subdue Iran’s terrorist regime—we did it before and we’ll do it again.”

Former National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien said, “The best way to obtain a good deal in talks with an adversary is to start from a ‘peace-through-strength’ posture that shows resolve and determination. The Administration did not do so here. Instead, the media reports that our negotiations with Iran were outsourced to Russia. And, the Russian ambassador crowed on TV that Iran got a better deal that it ever hoped to achieve. The last time we went down this route, the Iranian regime took the billions in concessions and sanctions relief to fund its proxy wars across the Middle East. There is no reason to believe the outcome will be any different today. If this weak deal is not scrapped, America, our allies in the region, especially Israel, and even the ordinary people of Iran will all suffer.”

Foundation for Defense of Democracy Action, United Against Nuclear Iran, National Union for Democracy in Iran, Coalition for Jewish Values, Heritage Action, Christian United For Israel Action Fund, Amb. Robert O’Brien’s American Global Strategies, Amb. Nikki Haley’s Stand for America, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo endorsed the resolution and 50 Members of the Republican Study Committee, including Tenney, joined as original cosponsors.

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