Top Democrat Cardin to Trump: Don’t decertify Iran deal

WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and not decertify Tehran’s compliance without any proof the regime is not holding its end of the bargain.

Taking such action, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said, would constitute a US violation of the 2015 landmark pact in which the US removed sanctions against Iran in exchange for it rolling back its nuclear program.

Since Trump last verified that Iran is abiding by the terms of the deal in July, he has repeatedly suggested he will not do the same come the next deadline on October 15. Under a deal struck between former president Barack Obama and Congress, the White House is required to report to Capitol Hill lawmakers every 180-days on whether the Islamic Republic is honoring its commitments.

“I am disturbed by continuing reports that President Trump will not certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, even though he has produced no evidence to Congress to warrant such a decision,” Cardin said.

“If President Trump proceeds as has been reported, it will set the United States on a dangerous path to re-impose nuclear sanctions on Iran, and ironically result in the United States being the country that breaks the international commitments it made under the JCPOA and United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

Decertifying the deal would not, on its own, pull America out of it. But it would enable Congress to impose fresh sanctions — or reimpose old ones — on Iran. Analysts also say that would be a first step toward ultimately exiting the accord.

In his first address to the UN General Assembly last month, Trump called the deal an “embarrassment” and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions.”

Cardin, in his statement, warned walking away from the agreement would damage the US internationally and weaken its ability to effectively address the challenge not just from Iran, but also North Korea.

“Leaving the JCPOA at this point, absent concrete facts and material determinations, would isolate us from our allies and partners when we need them to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities and deal with other pressing global challenges, such as the North Korean nuclear crisis,” he said.

Cardin, who voted against the deal, further stressed that leaving the agreement would endanger Israel.

“What’s more, the United States will not be in a strengthened position to ensure Israel’s security if we are isolated from and causing uncertainty among our allies,” he said.

“Under President Trump, US-Russian ceasefire arrangements in Syria have paved the way for Iran to move closer to Israel’s borders,” he added. “This dangerous situation will only be worse for Israel if Iran is unleashed from its JCPOA obligations, sanctions on Iran for its non-nuclear activities stall or collapse, and international cooperation to push back on Iran is undermined.”

He did, for his part, implore the president to take other concrete actions to address Tehran’s ongoing destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

“I also call on the president to immediately announce a broader strategy to push back on Iran,” he said. “Congress has already spoken on Iran’s non-nuclear activities with the passage of the Countering U.S. Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017.”

He went on: “In addition to vigorously enforcing the Iran agreement, the president should immediately follow the law by implementing these sanctions, working with our European allies, rather than sending the United States down a path that undermines our ability to continue pressure through sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia; weakens the trans-Atlantic alliance; and damages US leadership and credibility.”