NASHVILLE – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding reports that Iran’s daily oil exports continue to rise and could result in a violation of the terms negotiated in the Joint Plan of Action, an agreement between Iran, the United States and five other world powers to try to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
“Recent press reports indicate that as nuclear negotiations resume in Vienna, Iranian oil exports may be on-track to exceed the terms of the interim deal and other nations are beginning to explore longer-term economic relationships with Iran,” said Corker. “These developments undermine the international consensus to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. While I support the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Congress should consider clear consequences for Iran should they violate the Joint Plan of Action and move to ensure the president cannot grant sanctions relief as part of any final deal without congressional approval.”
The Joint Plan of Action limits Iran’s oil exports to an average of one million barrels per day over the six months the interim deal is in effect, which began on January 20, 2014.
In November 2013, Corker introduced the Iran Nuclear Compliance Act of 2013 to keep the pressure on Iran during the negotiations and prevent an interim deal from becoming the final deal. The Corker legislation, consistent with Iran’s existing obligations under the U.N. Security Council, requires Iran to fully comply with any interim deal and meet a series of conditions for an acceptable final agreement before the president of the United States could waive additional sanctions. All sanctions would be restored in the event Iran violates the terms of the interim or final agreement.
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