Andy Barr: “I thank Congressman Zeldin for his leadership on this issue; his voice in criticism of this flawed nuclear deal with…”

“I thank Congressman Zeldin for his leadership on this issue; his voice in criticism of this flawed nuclear deal with Iran; and, of course, for his valiant service to the United States in the military. I rise tonight in strong support of the President's decision to decertify this deeply flawed JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. I agree with the President's finding that Iran is not transparently, not verifiably, and not fully implementing the agreement. I agree with the President's finding that continued sanctions relief is not in the vital security interest of the United States. That is because the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran was a dangerous and historic mistake. The deal provided the mullahs in Tehran with roughly $100 billion in upfront sanctions relief in exchange for Iran's promise, future promise, to temporarily pause its enrichment program. Unfortunately, the agreement contained fatally deficient verification protocols and the International Atomic Energy Agency now concedes that it has no capacity to verify that Tehran is engaged in activities which could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device. That is because under the terms of the agreement, the very terms of the JCPOA, international inspectors are barred from accessing Iran's military sites where elicit nuclear activities are most likely taking place.…”