Washington January 10, 2018 – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement on reports President Trump may reimpose sanctions against Iran that were lifted by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement. The State Department expects the president to announce his decision on Friday.
“If President Trump violates the nuclear agreement, he would give Iran the ability to resume its nuclear weapons program and undermine the protestors he claims to support.
“According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, our international partners and our own intelligence community, Iran continues to comply with the nuclear agreement. As long as it’s in place, Iran cannot develop a weapon without our advanced knowledge. Absent a violation, there is no reason to scrap an agreement that prevents Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve witnessed the Iranian people protesting in the streets against their government and its policies. Lifting sanctions helped expose their government’s corruption and mismanagement of its economy, and reimposing them now would be turning our back on the Iranian people.
“If President Trump reimposes broad sanctions now, the Iranian government will again be able to deflect blame for its own economic problems onto the United States—undercutting the protestors’ efforts to drive real change in Iran.
“We already have one dangerous nuclear crisis on our hands with North Korea. President Trump would be foolish to create another in the Middle East. To support the Iranian protestors and prevent Tehran from restarting its nuclear weapons program, he must continue to abide by the nuclear agreement.”