Lieberman: Democratic Candidates Must Explain Stance on Iran Deal

Re-Entering Failed Agreement Would Bolster Regime’s Terror Activities

(New York, N.Y.) – As the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign continues, Iran must be part of the discussion on U.S. foreign policy. This morning, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman appeared on Fox Business Network to discuss reports that the U.S. conducted a cyber warfare operation against Iran in retaliation for the regime’s involvement in the September attack against Saudi Arabian oil facilities. He stated, “We have them on the defensive now, because the sanctions that President Trump imposed on them are really hurting the Iranian economy, so they’re jabbing at us. That’s all they’ve got the opportunity to do.”

In September, Senator Lieberman called on Democratic candidates to support negotiating a better deal with Iran, rather than re-entering the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in a USA Today op-ed:

“From the beginning, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a bad agreement for the United States and our allies in the region. That's because it only paused Iran’s nuclear project, instead of ending it, and did nothing to stop Iran’s aggression against its neighbors, or its support of terrorism, or its brutal repression of the Iranian people … A better strategy would be to pursue a new, more comprehensive agreement covering nuclear and nonnuclear issues. But that will only be possible if the United States doesn’t rejoin the JCPOA and the U.S. economic sanctions against Iran stay in force.”

Chief amongst the JCPOA’s failings are its sunset provisions, the first of which are set to expire on October 18, 2020. Once existing restrictions on Iran’s military, missiles and nuclear programs are lifted, materiel transfers to Iran’s terror proxies will uaniproliferate throughout the region.

“First, the arms embargo on Iran under this resolution expires Oct. 18, 2020. This sunset provision was one of the worst features of the agreement, because countries will no longer have to take measures to prevent Iranian transfers of weaponry to its terror proxies around the world. Given Iran’s 40-year history of violence — assassinating, bombing and droning its enemies — the expiration of the embargo is incendiary. The Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iraqi Shiite militias will be the primary beneficiaries. In report after report to the Security Council, U.N. member states have documented Iranian arms found on the battlefields of the Middle East.”

Finally, should a Democrat win the White House, he or she would need to explain why they support an agreement that enables Iran to continue its 40-year history of violence, especially through its funding of terrorist organizations.

“I hope the candidates will take a second look at this critically important foreign policy question. They should explain why, if elected president, they would rush the United States back into an agreement that gives Iran a legalized pathway to a nuclear weapon and the means to deliver it, and enables Iran to give even more arms to terrorists and military forces that are hostile to the United States and our allies in the region.”

To view Senator Lieberman’s interview this morning on Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria Bartiromo, please click here.

To read Senator Lieberman’s USA Today op-ed, please click here.