After American sources confirmed that President Joe Biden's administration has not closed the door on a potential return to the Iranian nuclear agreement despite the stalemate surrounding the talks that have been suspended for weeks in Vienna, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to defend this move. The Secretary stated that the nuclear agreement protects U.S. interests and security, arguing that the U.S. would be in a better position with the agreement rather than without it. He reiterated his commitment to reviving the agreement during a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, emphasizing that a return to the agreement would curb Tehran's nuclear program, while warning that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb within weeks.
"Beware of secret advances"
Despite these clarifications, the nuclear talks with Iran are facing increasing criticism within Congress, where some see them as paving the way for a rival that poses a threat comparable to that of Russia and China. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have viewed the agreement as limited, failing to address Iran's ballistic missile program, Tehran's regional policies, and Iran's malign activities that destabilize the region. Senior Republican member of the Intelligence Committee and Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, Marco Rubio, explained in an interview with "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath" that Iran already has the capability to enrich for nuclear weapons, and the Iranians will not forget how to do so. He also added that Washington should assume the Iranians can achieve secret advancements in weapon designs. He pointed out that the U.S. is monitoring Iran's development of its space capabilities, noting that they do not aim to go to space but are working to build long-range missile launch systems and already possess medium-range missiles.
Additionally, the Republican senator warned that the agreement would not prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, but would instead provide it with money to finance its program, as well as its globally sponsored terrorism. Regarding actions that Republicans in Congress could take to prevent the Biden administration from reaching an agreement with Iran, Rubio clarified that in addition to political pressure, everyone would be reminded that this deal is not a treaty. If the current administration signs the agreement, the next administration could completely withdraw from it, just as the previous administration did, arguing that the agreement constitutes political arrangements made by one administration that do not bind the next.
"Crazy move... you're creating another rival"
In a related context, Republican Senator Josh Hawley commented on Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statements, saying he seems to not understand nearly anything regarding the foreign policy of this administration. He accused the Biden administration of paving the way for the Iranians to resume their nuclear program, calling it "crazy." He added that President Joe Biden has already lost two sovereign nations within six months, namely Afghanistan and Ukraine, emphasizing that Biden now has a major rival in Russia and another in China, and is working to add Iran to the list of competitors by helping it regain any form of capabilities. Like his Republican colleague, Marco Rubio, Hawley believes the deal with Iran is a treaty that requires Senate ratification, which he doubts will pass, especially since he "does not believe that his Democratic colleagues in the Senate will vote for a weak deal."
Discontent over information concealment
It is noteworthy that in their ongoing efforts to oppose the Biden administration's attempts to revive what they describe as a bad deal with Iran, Republican lawmakers in the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees in the House expressed their dissatisfaction in a letter sent to the White House on Wednesday regarding the administration's secret diplomacy with Iran and its refusal to inform the American public about the concessions it will grant to the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism as part of a new deal. The signers of the letter, published by the "Washington Free Beacon," urged the administration not to engage in more secret negotiations and to inform the American public about plans and efforts to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear. The negotiations that began between Tehran and the powers involved in the 2015 agreement (France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China) in April last year (2021), with indirect U.S. participation, were halted on March 11 of this year (2022) after reaching their final stages.
