US: 140 lawmakers sign bipartisan letter to Blinken warning of ‘wide range of illicit Iranian behavior’

i24NEWS

March 10, 2021, 04:32 AM

The Iran nuclear deal must comprehensively encompass a multitude of threats that Iran poses to the region, a bipartisan group of 140 US lawmakers warned US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

The open letter, signed by 70 Democrat and 70 Republican lawmakers, was posted by Rep. Alcee Hastings, Florida Democrat, on his Twitter account.

The document is focused on three key aspects of Iran’s regional aggression: its nuclear ambitions, missile program and support for regional terrorist groups.

All of the above must be defused in an accord or a set of accords that the administration of US President Joe Biden may eventually enter with Iran, the lawmakers said.

“As Democrats and Republicans from across the political spectrum, we are united in preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and addressing the wide range of illicit Iranian behavior,” the lawmakers stressed.

The Biden administration has long signaled its willingness to rejoin the 2015 nuclear accords that former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of in 2018.

However, the process is yet to make any headway as the two sides are at odds on who must return to compliance first, with Iran violating the deal multiple times in recent years.

On Tuesday, the Biden administration imposed its first sanctions on Iran, citing Tehran’s human rights violations.