In a letter penned to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, Mahcnin pointed out that Iran violated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which aimed to place limits on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for a rollback of international sanctions and was ditched by the Trump Administration in 2018, multiple times and called for a “detailed briefing.” “I support President Biden’s commitment to reengaging the Government of Iran in diplomacy, we should not reward Iran with sanctions relief before they demonstrate verifiable efforts towards curbing their malign influence holistically; including their nuclear ambitions, terrorism financing, and dual-use weapons development,” he wrote.
“I am particularly worried about reports that you might be considering removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list in the hopes that trade relations can be reestablished with Iran to assist with our energy crisis,” he continued. “Let me be clear. The IRGC is a terrorist organization. We must not be shortsighted in the use of sanctions relief to mitigate our present energy challenges.” Manchin argued that sanctions “are our primary leverage” to stop malicious actions and a key component in facilitating agreements, asserting that he believes the U.S. must invest in national security and the energy sector to become less reliant on other countries.
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Manchin emphasized that lifting sanctions could ease the path for Iran in developing nuclear weapons, posing an increased threat to the U.S. and its allies, Israel, for example. Manchin said he feels big steps need to be employed to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons program but asserted that Congress should be consulted on the agreement before the U.S. enters a deal.
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Republicans and defense hawks have been vocal about their reluctance for the U.S. to reenter a similar agreement to the 2015 deal, arguing that it should be treated as a treaty and approved by Congress. As countries grapple with key provisions, negotiations on a new Iran deal have remained stalled in recent weeks.
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At this point in nuclear negotiations with Iran, it is unclear whether both sides will be able to get across the finish line, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday. “We’ve spoken to the significant progress that had been achieved in recent weeks,” Price said. “Obviously, we’ve been in a different position now for several weeks.” He revealed the U.S. is “preparing equally” for scenarios in which there is a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA and scenarios in which there is not.
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