More than 100 House Members Sign Bipartisan Letter Supporting Diplomacy with Iran

February 13, 2014 | Edited by Lauren Mladenka and Geoff Wilson

House letter - Over 100 members of the House signed a bipartisan letter to President Obama in support of continued diplomatic engagement with Iran. “[We] believe that Congress must give diplomacy a chance. A bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement, must be avoided.”

--“At present, however, we believe that Congress must give diplomacy a chance. A bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement, must be avoided,” says the letter.

--“We remain wary of the Iranian regime. But we believe that robust diplomacy remains our best possible strategic option, and we commend you and your designees for the developments in Geneva. Should negotiations fail or falter, nothing precludes a change in strategy. But we must not imperil the possibility of a diplomatic success before we even have a chance to pursue it.” Read the full letter here. http://bit.ly/1nvYrTp

How it played:

--“With the new sanctions bill ‘on ice’ and the interim deal currently solidified and taking effect (with a freeze on Iran’s nuclear program and more inspections), the congressional debate now appears to be looking toward the final nuclear agreement with Iran,” writes Ben Armbruster in ThinkProgress. Read the full piece here. http://bit.ly/1dnE2yM

--“The letter, signed by 100 Democratic House members and 4 Republicans, signals opposition to any form of Congressional resolution or legislation that could interfere with Iran diplomacy at this time,” writes Laura Rozen for Al-Monitor. http://bit.ly/1eX1nrf

--“Just days after senators trying to kill negotiations with Iran admitted defeat, a new letter from 104 members of the House of Representatives signals an upsurge of support for a diplomatic resolution of the Iranian crisis,” writes Joe Cirincione in The Huffington Post. http://huff.to/1gbhJgg

--“The effort represents a momentum shift in the House against sanctions. A bill backing sanctions passed in the chamber by a 400-20 vote in July,” reports Luke Johnson of The Huffington Post. http://huff.to/1nw3u6c

--“These Members of Congress don't want our negotiators tied up in the political disputes of Washington, they want them focused on preventing war and resolving the nuclear dispute," said Jamal Adbi of the National Iranian American Council. http://bit.ly/1nuK1CV

--“This letter reveals a deep understanding in Congress of the seriousness of the talks ahead and the delicacy of the environment in which they are taking place” and “reflects an overwhelming preference among their constituents-- the American public-- for a diplomatic resolution over military action which would only delay and not eliminate the Iranian program and would have unpredictable costs and consequences for the United States, our allies and the people in the region,” said Dylan Williams of J Street. http://bit.ly/1nvWR3Q

Tweet - @CFR_org: #ThisDayinHistory, 1960: France performs its first nuclear test, code-named "Gerboise Bleue."

In defense of diplomacy - “Thanks to the interim deal negotiated between world powers and Iran, we have taken an important first step toward reaching a final deal that would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons for good,” write Richard Hammerman and Elliot Tepperman for The Record. “Considering the thorny alternatives — either military action or an Iran even closer to nuclear weapons — diplomacy is clearly a path worth pursuing.”

--“Given diplomacy’s impressive track record, we owe it to ourselves to give these negotiations everything we’ve got. Not because we have reason to trust Iran, but because testing Iran’s intentions is the only way to be sure that it doesn’t get a weapon.” Full article here. http://bit.ly/1cyZooT

In perspective - “For many Americans, the familiar chants of ‘death to America’ on the 35th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic revolution on Tuesday were no doubt infuriating,” writes Carol Giacomo for The New York Times. “How can the United States ever complete a nuclear deal, much less consider normalizing relations in the future, with such a relentlessly hostile country?”

--“It’s important to remember that there is plenty of muscular rhetoric from Washington as well. In Congress, many lawmakers have been pushing for a new round of even more punishing sanctions,” Giacomo says. “Proponents of a deal on both sides will have to tune out the rhetoric and keep their focus on the facts. If they can reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement, and adhere to its terms, they can build trust. And eventually, perhaps, the chanting will fade away.” Full piece here. http://nyti.ms/1guqnG9

--“Iran Issues Upbeat Assessment of Prospects of Nuclear Programme Deal” by Simon Tisdall in The Guardian. http://bit.ly/MeXTWw

Tweet - @ArmsControlNow: Nuclear weapons: Overdue debate on long-term impact begins - ICRC #HINW14 http://bit.ly/MOlq0r

Ditching humanitarian conference - “The world's recognized nuclear powers are expected to skip a meeting this week on the humanitarian consequences of potential nuclear strikes,” Global Security Newswire reports. “‘No nuclear weapon state, permanent member of the U.N. Security Council ... will participate,’ Mexican Ambassador to Japan Claude Heller said on Wednesday, one day before the scheduled start of the Second Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Nayarit, Mexico. ‘The information that we have received is that there is right now no registration [of delegates] by the nuclear-weapons states.’" Read the full report here. http://bit.ly/1jBxJeI

Tweet - @ArmsControlWonk: Obama was wrong to let the US skip the conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons in Nayarit: http://atfp.co/1g1ADny

Kerry sets Korea as priority - “Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Asia on Wednesday to seek China’s help to try to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program,” reports Michael R. Gordon for The New York Times. “A senior State Department official said that Mr. Kerry wanted China to take steps to bring ‘the North Korean leadership to the realization’ that pursuing the capability to deliver nuclear weapons with a ballistic missile ‘does not bring security’ and ‘is simply not tenable.’” Full story here. http://nyti.ms/1gyVTl3

Try again - “Officials from North and South Korea will meet again on Friday after rare high-level talks on Wednesday failed to yield agreements,” reports Jeyup S. Kwaak for The Wall Street Journal. “The Friday meeting will be a continuation of discussions at which North Korea rejected the South's call to denuclearize and the South refused the North's call for a postponement of upcoming military drills with the U.S.” Read the full analysis of the situation on the Korean Peninsula here. http://on.wsj.com/NFF3c2

Weapons lab tries for fusion - “It took 192 lasers and a building big enough to contain three football fields, but physicists have finally produced a pair of nuclear fusion reactions that created more energy than was in the fuel to start with,” writes Amina Khan for the Los Angeles Times. “The reactions lasted less than a billionth of a second, and they released only a few thousand joules — enough to power a 100-watt light bulb for less than three minutes.”

--“The experiment, conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area, is still a very long way from ‘ignition,’ the point at which the reaction generates more energy than was required to kick it off with lasers. Scientists agree that significant hurdles remain before that goal can be reached.” http://lat.ms/1aYLr8n

Events:

--“Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare.” Book launch with Gareth Porter. Feb. 13 from 12:00-1:30 at Public Citizen, 1600 20th St. NW. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/M5i1KI

--“U.S.-Russian Relations in the 21st Century.” Discussion with Angela Stent, Fiona Hill, and Peter Baker. Feb. 18 from 2:00-3:30 at Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1bqFDTe

--“Reestablishing US Diplomatic Presence in Iran.” Discussion with Ramin Asgard, John Limbert, Morad Ghorban; moderated by Barbara Slavin. Feb. 19 at 10:00 at the Atlantic Council, 1030 15th St. NW, 12th floor. RSVP here.http://bit.ly/1lp96QC

--”Dealing WIth Iran: Where Are We Now and How Did We Get Here?” Webinar with Robin Wright and Kate Gould. Feb. 19 from 2:00-3:00. Register here. http://bit.ly/1mcRAmA

--“A Preview of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit.” Discussion with Graham Allison. Feb. 20 from 6:00-8:00 at George Washington University, Lindner Family Commons, Room 602, 1957 E St. NW. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1iR0oZY