The following are statements by U.S. lawmakers on the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the world’s six major powers that began on March 26 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
“We appreciate the diligent efforts to find a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, it is clear the negotiations are not going well. At every step, the Iranians appear intent on retaining the capacity to achieve a nuclear weapon. Without significant change, we have little confidence the negotiations will end well.
“Regardless of the outcome, Iran’s threat to regional security and stability endures. Any hope that a nuclear deal will lead Iran to abandon its decades-old pursuit of regional dominance through violence and terror is simply delusional. The Obama Administration’s failure to recognize and counter this threat has only served to expand Iranian influence.”
—April 1, 2015 in a joint statement
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)
“I have one goal. That goal is to make sure that the American people heard and the Congress heard about the serious threat that Iran poses not only to the Middle East but for the rest of the world including the United States… The president doesn't want to talk about it. Doesn't want to talk about the threat of radical Islam and the fact that he has no strategy to deal with it.”
—March 29, 2015 on CNN’s “State of the Union”
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
“If today’s news report from Lausanne is true, we are not inching closer to Iran’s negotiating position, but leaping toward it with both feet. We have pivoted away from demanding the closure of Fordow when the negotiations began, to considering its conversion into a research facility, to now allowing hundreds of centrifuges to spin at this underground bunker site where centrifuges could be quickly repurposed for illicit nuclear enrichment purposes. My fear is that we are no longer guided by the principle that ‘no deal is better than a bad deal,’ but instead we are negotiating ‘any deal for a deal’s sake’.
“An undue amount of trust and faith is being placed in a negotiating partner that has spent decades deceiving the international community; denying the International Atomic Energy Agency access to its facilities; refusing to answer questions about its nuclear-related military activities; and all the while, actively destabilizing the region from Lebanon to Syria to Iraq to Yemen. A good deal must meet our primary negotiating objective – curtailing Iran’s current and future ability to achieve nuclear weapons capability. If the best deal Iran will give us does not achieve this goal, it is not a good deal for the United States or its partners. A good deal won’t leave Iran as a nuclear threshold state.”
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)
“The decision to extend the nuclear negotiations in the face of Iranian intransigence and duplicity proves once again that Iran is calling the shots. Just weeks ago President Obama said ‘I don’t see a further extension being useful.’ And today the State Department admitted that ‘there are several difficult issues still remaining’ in the negotiations. Given the dangerous concessions by the Obama administration over the past week, one can only imagine what further concessions it will make in the next 24 hours to resolve these issues.
“The best solution is walk away from the nuclear negotiations now and return to a position of strength. We should reinstate existing sanctions suspended under the Joint Plan of Action and Congress should act immediately to impose new sanctions. It’s time for the United States to regain the upper hand and quit negotiating out of weakness.”
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
“It’s an arbitrary deadline first [March 31]. So, let’s understand that if there’s progress being made, there’s absolutely no reason why you wouldn’t extend the talks at least a day. And, of course, this is a deadline to get a frame work. The talks have actually been extended through June.
“And so, all of the Obama administration has outlined a deal by the end of March, and then they’ll have to work on the details. But, of course, we should give them more time because the stakes are enormous. I mean, what you have are Republicans cheerleading for war.
“The consequence of the United States walking away from these negotiations and maybe we’ll ultimately have to do that is really a military option. We won’t be able to put the sanctions back together as effectively as we had them in the first place.
“I think Senator Cotton made it pretty clear that he thinks that the best option ultimately is for the United States to use military intervention in order to disabuse Iran of any future nuclear weapons program. I don’t think that everybody who signed that letter, all 47 of them, believe that that’s the case, but there’s certainly an element of the Republican Party that views American international power solely through a military lens. Just doesn’t see any use for negotiations.”
—March 31, 2015 on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes”
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
"The longer the Obama Administration stays at the negotiating table with Iran, the more concessions they make...We have recently learned Tehran is insisting on sanctions relief before IAEA inspectors are given full access to inspect potential military elements of the nuclear program; that Tehran will continue enrichment activities at military facilities; and that Tehran plans to retain its entire nuclear stockpile rather than relinquish any of it to outside countries. And now the commander of the Basij militia of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has reportedly said that ‘erasing Israel off the map' is ‘nonnegotiable.' Enough is enough. The Obama Administration's bad deal is only getting worse with time. Iran's nuclear build-up profoundly endangers the security of America and our allies."
—April 1, 2015 in a press release
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
"[Parameters of the deal] have to be fairly specific if the administration is going to get us to June 30th, and that's the challenge that they face."
"I don't think that we need to press on any particular date...The real date that makes all the difference is at the end of June."
"If we put too much pressure on ourselves to get a deal within 12 hours or 24 hours, that works in Iran's favor."
"A lot will depend on whether this is part of a deal that Congress views as a good deal. I think if Congress comes to the conclusion this is not a good deal — the administration has given too much, Iran has given too little — then you will see additional legislation that attempts to tie the president's hands."
If critical issues are not ironed out, "then the president will have a hard time holding Congress back from additional action.”
—April 1, 2015 on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports"
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC)
Rep. Roger Williams
