Rep. Kelly Condemns Iran Nuclear Deal
“A dangerous mistake of potentially historic proportions”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) issued the following statement today regarding this morning’s announcement by the Obama administration of an agreement with Iran over the future of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program.
“Based on everything we currently know, the Obama administration’s deal with Iran represents a dangerous mistake of potentially historic proportions. It fails to achieve the paramount mission of permanently ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions while instead leaving the Islamic Republic newly emboldened, wrongly legitimized, and ominously free to continue its deadly sponsorship of international terrorism.
“Throughout the entire negotiation process, President Obama was openly desperate to achieve a legacy-cementing deal at almost any cost. The Iranians exploited the situation by extracting concession after concession and are now left celebrating a deal that rewards their government with tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief—much of which is guaranteed to be funneled to terrorist groups and causes throughout the world. At the same time, the agreement excludes any requirements by Iran to allow thorough American inspections, release American hostages, or even curb its well-known human rights abuses against its own people.
“Going forward, the American people’s representatives in Congress must remind the world what this administration has clearly forgotten: that Iran is not our moral or geopolitical equal but rather an untrustworthy terror state still committed to the advance of radicalism and the annihilation of Israel. We must do everything in our power to defeat this agreement. Doing so would reassert our nation’s indispensable global leadership and deny Iran a victory the world cannot afford.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE AGREEMENT
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On December 11, 2015, Rep. Kelly and Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA) co-authored the following op-ed.
Iran’s Missile Tests Show True Intent of Regime
As members of the U.S. House of Representatives, we are deeply concerned by recent reports of additional ballistic missile tests conducted by Iran. These missiles, capable of delivering nuclear warheads as far as Israel or Eastern Europe, are a stark violation of international sanctions placed upon the regime in 2010 through U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929.
In October, President Obama unveiled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) aimed at curbing the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program. The plan, which the President touted as a milestone in diplomacy, is now less than two months old. More troubling, the first intelligence reports of Iran’s missile tests date to October 10th, eight days prior to President Obama’s announcement that his Administration would adopt the flawed JCPOA. According to recent reports, the Administration is now urging the International Atomic Agency (IAEA) to close an investigation on Iran’s nuclear program — even though a recent IAEA report determined that the regime pursued nuclear weapons technology until 2009. The completion of this investigation, expected Dec. 15, clears the way for tens of billions of dollars to be released to Iran.
Earlier this year, the President’s overconfidence also led him to ignore serious policy concerns voiced by 350 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives leading up to the agreement.
The idea that we should reward Iran by removing economic sanctions, providing billions to a regime that has long been the leading state sponsor of terrorism, is dangerous precedent. Moreover, the terms of the JCPOA did not call for compliance before the sanctions would be lifted. The regime’s proclivity for funneling money to clandestine terrorist activities throughout the region is well documented. Many of our soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan lost their lives to Iranian made explosive devices and the regime remains focused on destabilizing the region, particularly with their recent involvement in Yemen and Syria.
The latest missile test is believed to have taken place on November 21, further undermining all efforts from the United States and international community. A clear indication of future performance is past performance, and therefore we remain convinced that moving forward with implementing the JCPOA will only embolden the Iranian regime and make our troops and allies in the region less safe.
There is too much on the line for the President to sit on the sidelines as we continue to be bullied. Rather, we must work with our allies and the international community, particularly the Gulf states, to mitigate all future options for Iran to continue to advance their nuclear weapons program. This starts by abandoning the JCPOA and ensuring that not one additional dollar flows into the coffers of this terrorist regime.
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