Congressman Sherman and Poe Statement on the Nuclear Negotiations with Iran

Press Release

Congressmen Ted Poe and Brad Sherman, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, released the following statement laying out their position on the broad contours of an acceptable final deal on Iran's nuclear program in advance of a hearing they have called this week. The hearing, to be held tomorrow on Tuesday, November 18 at 2:00 pm in 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building, will provide the opportunity to hear from experts in detail regarding what an acceptable deal would look like and what an effective verification and compliance regime would entail.

"We hope that the P5+1 will reach a durable agreement that will permanently end Iran's nuclear weapons program in a way that is 100% verifiable. "Iran must not be left with the ability to either break out or sneak out of a final agreement. Any final agreement must not just freeze but work to dismantle Iran's nuclear weapons program. Any agreement must also withhold sanctions relief until the Iranian side has demonstrated that they are complying with the terms of the agreement. This may take many years, but it is critical that the international community maintains leverage to ensure compliance and punish transgressions. Staged sanctions relief should only come in the event that Iran meets clear milestones in dismantling its nuclear program set out in an acceptable final agreement."

"Compliance with any agreement will be nearly impossible without knowing the extent of Iran's past activities with "potential military dimensions," the efforts to manufacture a bomb, as distinct from the fissile material that would fuel a bomb. Iran must not only end efforts to produce bomb fuel, it needs to let the world know what efforts it has undertaken to actually design and manufacture nuclear weapons; otherwise, the world will not be able to fully verify that these efforts have also ended."

"Those who desperately want a deal with Iran say that a good deal is better than no deal. We believe it is also true that no deal is better than a bad one. If we cannot get the Iranians to sign a good deal, we will be ready to dramatically increase the pressure on Iran through additional sanctions and diplomatic isolation."

Source