105 congressmen to Obama: Freeze Iran nuke deal
A bipartisan group of more than 100 U.S. lawmakers is urging President Obama to block further implementation of the Iran nuclear deal since the Iranians have already violated critical provisions on multiple occasions just months into the agreement.
House Foreign Affairs Committee member Ted Yoho, R-Fla., spearheaded a letter, which was sent to the White House just as members of Congress were wrapping up business before Christmas. He said 105 members, both Democrats and Republicans, have signed on.
At issue, according to the letter, is Iran’s decision to conduct ballistic missile tests on Oct. 10 and Nov. 21 in 2015. Such tests are specifically forbidden in the nuclear deal, which is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
Yoho told WND and Radio America the Iranian violations are obvious.
“Iran has broken the deal already, a minimum of two times, by test-firing the ballistic missiles. This is just a blatant breach of that agreement,” said Yoho, who then elaborated on why the tests were a direct violation of Iran’s vow not to acquire nuclear weapons.
“The only reason you need a medium-range or intercontinental ballistic missile is for the delivery of a nuclear warhead. There is no other reason to have that,” he said.
For close to three months, there has been virtually no response to the missile tests from the Obama administration. Yoho said that is not what Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry said would happen if Iran was caught cheating.
“The president and John Kerry said that if they breached the agreement, there would be immediate snap-back and sanctions would be put in place,” Yoho said. “We had over 105 congressional representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, who signed on to that because it is such a blatant breach of this contract or this agreement.”
Yoho said Obama’s failure to make good on his word is yet another major blow to U.S. credibility around the world, after drawing the famous “red line” in response to Syrian use of chemical weapons only to back away. He also cited Obama’s previous demand for ousting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Last month, during a visit to Russia, Kerry announced that was no longer the U.S. goal.