(February 23) A group of US Senators led by Senator Ed Markey, Dianne Epstein, Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, all Democrats and Bernie Sanders an Indpendent have introduced the Iran Diplomacy Act.
The Iran Diplomacy Act
The act, bill S.3314, calls upon the US to return to its commitments under the P5 + 1 nuclear deal with Iran. However the bill is non-binding so it becomes just one of a series of bills objecting to Trump's policy on Iran. Trump will almost certainly disapprove of the bill as he has from the beginning objected to the Iran deal. It remains to be seen if the bill can pass the Senate and then the House.
US appears to want to sabotage the original pact
Senator Markey argues that the US pullout from the deal created a nuclear crisis where none existed before. Other argue that the US and Iran should both return to the deal as originally written. Iran is clearly willing to do so should the US decide to do so as well. However, the US has not only withdrawn from the pact but also seems bent upon keeping other parties from complying with the terms of the pact.
Senator Markey said: "President Trump’s Iran policy is a prime example of how he has created new nuclear crises where none existed or where they had successfully been tamed through diplomacy. IIf President Trump is serious about his declaration that ‘Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,’ he should recommit to the agreement which verifiably shut off all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear bomb and abandon his failed Iran strategy that has brought us to the brink of war, not once but twice.”
Senator Feinstein claimed that under the Iran nuclear agreement there was a deal that restricted Iran's capability of developing nuclear weapons. She claimed the agreement was the best chance for peace in decades of hostilities. She argued that Trump's decision to withdraw increased tensions and has led to the potential of increased nuclear proliferation. Feinberg hoped that the Iran Diplomacy Act would help the US return to the deal.
Senator Elizabeth Warren argued that the US should work with its allies and partners to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Instead of doing this through the agreement President Trump withdrew from a successful deal. He re-imposed sanctions that hurt the Iranian populace and risked provoking a war with Iran. Warren said the bill put diplomacy first and avoids another possible war in the Middle East.
New EU foreign affairs chief to meet with Iran's Foreign Minister
Josep Borrell the new EU foreign affairs chief, will meet with Javad Zarif Iran's Foreign Minister this Monday according to an Iranian news report. Since Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, the Iranians have responded by gradually rolling back their commitment to the deal. Iran has not been satisfied by attempts of other signatories to rescue the deal. The deal is described by Wikipedia: "The Iran nuclear deal framework was a preliminary framework agreement reached in 2015 between the Islamic Republic of Iran and a group of world powers: the P5+1 (the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China—plus Germany) and the European Union."
Previously published in the Digital Journal
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