I am aghast that Senator Bob Menendez is proposing new sanctions aimed at Iran during negotiations. I am horrified that my Senator Mark Warner, whom I admire and support, is a co-sponsor.
**READ BELOW FOR SENATOR WARNER'S RESPONSE**
Today I sent the following e-mail to Senator Warner:
Dear Senator Warner,
As a supporter and voter for you, I am dismayed by your decision to sign on to the wrong-headed and ill-fated attempt to impose additional sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran in the midst of vital diplomatic initiatives aimed at reducing tensions and enhancing opportunities for peaceful outcomes. It goes without saying that Iran's threats to end all talks in the face of such behavior would leave the United States with few options short of war in pursuit of eliminating any Iranian nuclear threat.
As a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has the right to a peaceful civilian nuclear program. In the event that negotiations fail to head off any perceived efforts to obtain weapons capability, there is always time to impose additional sanctions. Demands that Iran abandon its rights to such a program serve no purpose except to speed a march towards war.
Recently I received a letter from you soliciting my support, and three weeks ago I responded with a check to Friends of Mark Warner. I expect you as one of the leaders of the United States Senate to support the actions of the Obama Administration in ratcheting down tensions and reducing risks of another ruinous war in the Middle East.
Please reconsider your support for this strategy. It is a dead-end.
Thank you.
Below is Senator Warner's response, which I take to show he has returned to his senses.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns related to the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear activities. On November 24, 2013, the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain (known as the P5+1 nations), and Iran negotiated an interim agreement on how to bring Iran's civilian nuclear program into compliance with international standards. On January 12, 2014, the countries reached an agreement on how to implement the interim accord. Beginning January 20, 2014, Iran and the P5+1 will have six months to reach a final deal on the future of Iran's civilian nuclear program.
I believe that it is important to allow this interim agreement a chance to proceed as a verifiable diplomatic solution is the preferred outcome. Nonetheless, Iran must live up to the terms of the compact or risk additional sanctions. This agreement calls for Iran to halt most of its uranium enrichment efforts, dilute its uranium stockpiles, open its facilities to daily monitoring by international inspectors, and slow construction of the Arak plutonium reactor. It is possible to assemble nuclear weapons using either enriched uranium or plutonium, and the new pact is designed to make it difficult for Iran to develop enough of either material for a nuclear bomb.
Specifically, this interim agreement seeks to freeze Iran's enrichment program by limiting any enrichment of uranium to a level of five percent; this includes neutralizing or diluting Iran's existing stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to below 5 percent enrichment. The agreement stipulates that no new centrifuges are allowed to be installed or manufactured, and work on Iran's Arak plutonium reactor, a potential alternative path to nuclear weapons, will be suspended.
Iran has also agreed to comply with an intrusive inspection regime and to comply with all UN Security Council resolutions, which it has previously refused to follow. A Joint Commission, consisting of Iran and the P5+1 nations, has been created to verify aspects of Iran's program, and Iran has agreed to comply with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran has also agreed to daily monitoring, and pledges to address United Nations concerns about the Parchin military facility, which has been suspected of conducting tests related to nuclear weapons design. In exchange for Iran's agreement to halt some aspects of its nuclear program, approximately $7 billion of sanctions relief will be provided to Iran. This includes approximately $4.2 billion in oil sales that would be transferred to Iran in installment payments in exchange for progress on the agreement.
I have been a strong supporter of sanctions against Iran and I believe that these comprehensive restrictions were successful in bringing Iran to the table. Some of the specific sanctions that I have backed include the Iran Bank Sanctions Act of 2011, which I co-sponsored. This law imposed tough constraints on Iran's Central Bank. Passing this legislation was an important step because the Central Bank was identified as an entity within Iran that was actively shirking the previous sanctions imposed on Iran's petroleum sector. I was also an early co-sponsor of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, which targeted Iran's energy sector. The most recent set of restrictions were authorized in the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed with my support and contained an additional set of sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran.
Secretary of State Kerry and our international partners, including Russia and China, were able to use this leverage to secure agreement on an interim step towards curbing Iran's nuclear program. Despite this positive trajectory, key issues remain. Implementation of inspection and verification measures will be a challenge, and I will be watching Iran's compliance closely. I have written the President to urge that the IAEA inspection team is provided additional resources to allow a robust inspection and verification regime. It is also important to note that this agreement only represents a six-month interim step, and we must still achieve a final agreement. We should provide this diplomatic avenue a chance to succeed as long as it is backed up with a credible threat for non-compliance.
If Iran fails to abide by the terms of the current agreement, it should expect a resumption and deepening of existing sanctions, and we need to maintain pressure on the regime. That is why I am cosponsoring S.1881, the Iran Nuclear Weapon Free Act of 2013. This Act does not violate the Administration's agreements with Iran. It serves as a prudent insurance policy: new sanctions would be imposed only if Iran violates the terms of the current six-month interim agreement, or if Iran fails to reach a final agreement with the international community.
As a member of both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Banking Committee, I have closely monitored the development of Iran's nuclear program, and the effects that sanctions have had on Iran's economy. I will continue to work to support international resolution of the Iran nuclear program in a way that respects U.S. interests and the challenges we face at home and abroad today.
Again, thank you for contacting me. For further information or to sign up for my newsletter please visit my website at http://warner.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator