FCNL condemns President Trump’s dangerous decision to violate the Iran nuclear deal, which has blocked that country’s pathways to building a nuclear weapon and guarded against the risk of U.S. war with Iran. By refusing to issue sanctions waivers as required under the landmark nuclear accord, President Trump is dramatically increasing the risk of war. Our 75-year-old Quaker lobby in the public interest is urging members of Congress to do everything in their power to prevent another catastrophic U.S. war in the Middle East.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kate Gould
kate@fcnl.org
202-547-6000
Kate Gould, FCNL’s Legislative Director for Middle East Policy, made the following statement:
“Today, the risk of war with Iran exponentially increased as a result of President Trump’s decision to violate the Iran nuclear deal. By refusing to waive sanctions as required by the Iran nuclear accord, President Trump has created a rift with U.S. allies, opened the door for Iran to pull out of the international agreement, and put the United States on the fast track to a military confrontation with Iran. Our Quaker network is urging Congress to immediately condemn the president’s decision to withdraw from this agreement and take steps to build a diplomatic off-ramp to prevent war.
“As countless former U.S. national security officials and Israeli security officials have attested, the Iran deal is working, and Tehran has upheld its commitments under the agreement. With today’s decision to violate this carefully constructed international agreement, the Trump administration is jeopardizing all of the safeguards now in place that have closed off Iran’s potential pathways to the bomb.
“If the deal collapses, the cameras monitoring Iran’s uranium mines will go dark. The 130 additional UN inspectors who wake up every morning and inspect Iran’s sealed centrifuges and nuclear facilities, will be shut out of the country. The Iranian-Israeli confrontation that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis recently warned is “likely,” will become all the more certain, along with an unconstrained Iranian nuclear program and prospects for direct U.S. military confrontation with Iran.
“Members of Congress must act on the wishes of the majority of Americans who support the Iran nuclear accord and oppose war with Iran and take the following actions:
Press the Trump administration to reverse course and bring the U.S. back into compliance, and make it clear that failure to do so means that President Trump is responsible for the collapse of the deal, and the resulting consequences of an unconstrained Iranian nuclear program and the increased risk of war that risks millions of lives.
Demand emergency hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the Armed Services Committees, and the Intelligence Committees to question Trump administration nominees on how the U.S. intends to respond to an Iranian nuclear program that would no longer be subjected to the constraints and intrusive inspection measures now in place, if the Iran deal falls apart as a result of President Trump’s decision.
Reach out to European negotiators and other diplomats involved in the Iran nuclear negotiations to strategize on how best to prevent a U.S. or Israeli war with Iran.
“FCNL’s network has been mobilizing for diplomacy with Iran for more than a decade, and our network is urging every member of Congress to speak out against President Trump’s march to war with Iran. We at FCNL will work with other faith groups, the broader peace and security community, and pro-diplomacy constituents around the country to press Congress to block Trump’s agenda for yet another U.S. war in the Middle East.”
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people of many different faiths from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
