Reed, Langevin Praise Iran Nuclear Agreement

Members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation have issued statements in support of the nuclear agreement with Iran announced Tuesday that is designed to control that country’s nuclear program.

The agreement is the result of drawn-out and at-times paralyzing talks between the United States and Iran over the past 20 months.

President Barack Obama said the deal is an example of negotiations achieving something “that decades of animosity has not.”

The comprehensive plan would lift economic sanctions in exchange for reductions in Iran’s centrifuge capacity by two thirds and limits their use of certain facilities. The deal also puts caps on how much uranium the country can enrich and aims to strictly control its potential pathways to obtaining nuclear weapons.

Here are the local statements:

Sen. Jack Reed:

Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Iran nuclear agreement:

“This agreement demonstrates the power of American-led diplomacy and establishes a strict and robust monitoring and verification system. If fully implemented, this deal will help control Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon.

“As President Obama points out, the accord is not built on trust, but on verification. Any attempt by Iran to break the rules or covertly pursue nuclear weapons must be met with swift, forceful, and decisive action by the United States and the international community.

“It has taken nearly two years of persistent, rigorous negotiations to reach this point. President Obama and his negotiating team - at every echelon, including our scientists and nuclear experts - deserve the nation’s thanks.

“In the weeks ahead, Congress has a solemn obligation to carefully review the details of this historic agreement and to independently confirm that we are meeting our common goal of stopping Iran from building a nuclear weapon and making our nation, and the world, a safer place.”

Now that an agreement between the P5+1 group (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, plus Germany) and Iran has been reached, Congress will have a 60-day window to review the agreement. The 60-day clock will begin once a number of documents, including certifications from the Director of National Intelligence, are submitted to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, which could take place in the coming days.

Rep. James Langevin

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement in response to the deal reached on Iran’s nuclear program:

“After decades of tension and sanctions, and nearly two years of intense negotiations, it is encouraging to see this progress. There are many difficult questions that need to be answered before I can support any deal with Iran, but I applaud the negotiators for their commitment to this critical challenge, and I look forward to reviewing the agreement in the days to come. In the not so distant past, the prospect of reaching any agreement seemed impossible. That we have made it this far is the result of hard work and commitment to diplomacy on the part of the Administration and our international partners in negotiation. But the work is far from finished.

“I am eager to review the details of this agreement to ensure that it is verifiable, that the goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is guaranteed, and that there will be serious and immediate repercussions for any failure on Iran’s part to meet its obligations. For the sake of our friends in Israel, for our allies worldwide and for our own national security, we cannot let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon. We have no reason to trust Iran, and as Congress begins to scrutinize this deal, we must keep that at the front of our minds. Iran has long been a destabilizing force in the region, with a dangerous history of sanctioned terrorism. Transparency, oversight and strong inspections are critical to ensuring the efficacy of this agreement.”