Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Delaware, Mr. Coons, for his leadership on this very important topic. I could not agree with him more that we need to fund the IAEA, that we need to confirm Adam Szubin for the position of Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and that our European allies must join us in sanctions against Mahan Air. The JCPOA is focused upon one clear goal: preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The fact that an agreement like this was able to be achieved at the negotiating table is a testament to the strong economic sanctions that were imposed on Iran in direct response to Iran's past illicit nuclear activities. The JCPOA required Iran to complete key nuclear-related steps, verified by the IAEA, before any sanctions were removed. Iran has shipped out 25,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium, thereby tripling its breakout time. Iran has removed the core of the Arak heavy water plutonium reactor and has rendered it unusable. Iran is also limited to 300 kilograms of uranium enriched to only 3.67 percent, which is below weapons grade. These are positive steps toward preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But they came at a time when the world community possessed the most leverage, and Iran had the most to lose by not complying with the deal.…”