White House press secretary Jen Psaki promised that negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal would reflect the best interests of the United States and its allies, despite criticism from some corners.
The Obama administration brokered the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015, decreasing sanctions against Iran in exchange for the country reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium needed to fuel nuclear weapons. The Trump administration scrapped the pact in 2018, and the Biden administration is now looking to restore it.
SENATE REPUBLICANS CHALLENGE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ON IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
But many Republicans are challenging the deal, along with foreign leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
“Unfortunately, there is still determination to sign the nuclear deal with Iran at almost any cost, including saying that the world’s largest terrorist organization [the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] is not a terrorist organization,” Bennett told the Times of Israel. “This is too high a price.”
Asked if that’s what the U.S. is saying by pursuing the deal, Psaki defended the negotiations.
“I’d say we are in regular touch with our Israeli counterparts, including leaders,” she said. “We don’t have a deal yet, we’re consulting with our allies and partners, including Israel, as we negotiate, and the president is going to make a decision on whether to reenter the deal based on what’s in the best interests of American security and strategic interests.”
“That includes the security of our partners in regions like Israel,” Psaki added. “If and when we have a deal, I’m sure we can discuss more specifics.”
Donald Trump argued the deal was bad for America when he pulled the U.S. out of it four years ago, saying that “America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.”
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Many in the GOP now oppose bringing it back. Nearly every Republican senator signed a letter to the Biden administration last week voicing their opposition to the currently paused nuclear negotiations with Iran.
The group of 49 Republicans, excluding only Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, said it would not support a deal that would “provide substantial sanctions relief in exchange for merely short-term limitations on Iran’s nuclear program.”
Two weeks ago, Iran launched a missile attack in Irbil, an area of northern Iraq where U.S. forces are stationed, and Iran claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for an Israeli strike earlier this week that killed two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
