Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement after President Trump refused to certify that the Iran nuclear agreement is in our national security interest:

“The president's decision to weaken the Iran nuclear agreement is reckless and irresponsible. Leaving now would only undercut our ability to solve future diplomatic crises, including North Korea.

“The agreement negotiated with our key European allies ensures Iran won’t be able to pursue an atomic bomb. The IAEA has repeatedly reported that Iran is abiding by the agreement, and just last week the Senate Intelligence Committee received a briefing from senior intelligence officials confirming that Iran is living up to its commitments.

“Abandoning this multilateral agreement would only isolate the United States from our allies. As former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said, ‘Even if America decides to pull out of it, no one will join—not the Chinese, not the Russians, not even the Europeans. It will serve the Iranians.’

“Congress must now decide whether to reimpose sanctions against Iran. For our own national security, I urge my colleagues to vote against reimposing sanctions as long as Iran is upholding its side of the agreement. If Congress reimposes sanctions, it’s the United States, not Iran, that will have broken its commitments, further damaging our credibility on the international stage, making a diplomatic solution with North Korea that much harder.”

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