Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced that he will offer a Motion to Instruct (MTI) conferees to the so-called “China bill” that would require any deal with Iran to address Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, along with Iran’s nuclear proliferation, ballistic missile development, and support for terrorism. The MTI would also prohibit the President from lifting the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military of the world’s leading State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST).
“It is past time for Congress to speak clearly that a nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, negotiated by Russia and China on behalf of the Biden Administration, that allows missile proliferation, lifts sanctions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and sets a clear timeline toward Iran having a bomb is unacceptable,” said Lankford. “I want the conferees to hear from the Senate that we do not want the United States to make a nuclear deal with Iran that ignores their past behavior and their present intentions. This is a moment for Congress to push the Administration to demonstrate strength through decisive action, not weakness through negotiating with terrorist regimes.”
This week, reports continue to roll in on the ongoing and increasing military cooperation between Beijing and Tehran. Additionally, reports indicate that China is increasingly reliant on oil from Iran—constituting nearly two-thirds of Iran’s foreign petroleum sales last month in violation of US sanctions. Iran’s terrorist activity in the region has also doubled since President Biden took office, showcasing the effectiveness of President Trump’s strategy of “maximum pressure” and the failure of President Biden’s strategy of “maximum appeasement.”
Lankford is the lead sponsor of the Iran Sanctions Preservation Act, which is supported by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and would prohibit any president from lifting sanctions on Iran’s energy industry or financial services sector unless the Iranian regime ends its nuclear program, support for terrorism, or use of ballistic missiles.
As the White House currently works to reinstate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the “Iran Nuclear Deal, Lankford continues to call out the Administration that re-entering the deal only helps Iran become a nuclear power and creates additional national security concerns for Americans at home and abroad. Lankford and 48 Republican Senators came together to tell the Biden Administration that they will not support the revived Iran Deal, which, according to public reports, will weaken sanctions and lessen restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.
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