US House of Representatives members called the provision to negate such a pathway a key requirement for considering permanent congressionally-mandated sanctions relief for Iran.
“The letter that the Members sent to the President highlights concerns about the size of Iran’s current uranium enrichment program, its lack of cooperation with international inspectors, and the need for an intrusive inspection regime,” the statement said. “It asserts that verifiable constraints on Iran’s program must last for decades.”
Resolving the nuclear crisis with Iran remains of “grave importance” to US security, the letter said, and the Congress is prepared to evaluate any agreement to determine its long-term impact on the United States and its allies.
The bipartisan letter comes after 47 Republicans sent a letter to Iran on March 9, warning the Iranian leadership of potential nuclear deal collapse upon Obama’s departure from office in 2017 and in case Congress does not ratify the agreement.
International talks between the P5+1 group of countries and Iran have been ongoing for more than a year and are facing an end of March deadline to reach an agreement on a political framework. The P5+1 group consists of five permanent UN Security Council members — China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France plus Germany.
