A broad coalition of 20 progressive American pro-diplomacy groups today issued a joint letter to the US State Department supporting a swift re-entry to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached by President Obama in 2015, which cut off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
“ A path to returning to the deal is within reach, which presents the Biden administration with a stark choice,” the group said. “Finalize a restoration of the JCPOA and restore far-reaching constraints on Iran’s nuclear program, or risk being trapped in the failed maximum pressure policies the Trump administration enacted.”
President Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the seven-nation agreement in 2018 triggered an escalation in military tension with Iran, and led to the Iranian government increasing its nuclear activities which had previously been constrained by the deal.
The 20-member group represents a broad coalition of organizations spanning from Indivisible and MoveOn, to Truman Center for National Policy and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
The group includes several pro-Israel organizations, including J Street and Americans for Peace Now. In recent months, many Israeli security experts have slammed President Trump’s withdrawal from the deal. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak described it as a “delusional decision” which freed Iran from its constraints and increased instability in the region.
“It is clear that the Iran nuclear agreement remains overwhelmingly in the US interest, and that the nonproliferation benefits of restoring the deal would be immediate and significant,” the group said. “We stand ready to support and defend a restoration of the agreement against bad faith and partisan opponents.”
