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Corker Statement on Trump Administration’s Actions Against Iran

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s actions against Iran. The administration announced new sanctions along with certification of Tehran’s technical compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). A decision on certification is required every 90 days under provisions of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), a law authored by Corker in 2015 to require congressional review and oversight of any nuclear agreement with Iran after the Obama administration sought to bypass Congress.

“The administration’s actions today clearly demonstrate that President Trump is fully committed to confront the threat from Iran in a strategic and effective way,” said Corker, who led opposition in Congress to the nuclear deal. “The non-binding nature of the nuclear deal and the expedited procedures in Congress for reimposing nuclear sanctions allow the administration to respond quickly to a material breach by Iran at any time. While the administration continues to evaluate its overall approach to Iran, the best way to hold Tehran accountable at present is for the House to act swiftly to enact tough sanctions for the regime’s bad acts outside the JCPOA, which passed the Senate in a near unanimous vote more than a month ago.”

On June 15, 2017, legislation coauthored by Corker to strengthen and expand sanctions on Iran and Russia passed the Senate by a vote of 98 to 2. The Iran component of the bill imposes new sanctions on the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile development, support for terrorism, transfers of conventional weapons, and human rights violations.

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