Washington, DC – Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21) issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action:

“Withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to fulfill a campaign promise is a shortsighted and scary move that allows Iran back on the path to a nuclear weapons capability should it choose to do so. This decision has the potential to destabilize the region, isolate the U.S. from our European allies, and undermine American credibility around the world.

Whether or not Iran stays in the deal, it now has license to claim it’s null and void, and respond by restarting their nuclear program. The consequences for peace and security in the Middle East are serious, endangering our national security and putting our greatest ally Israel at grave risk.

I urge the President to reverse his decision and leave the current deal in place, while working with our international partners to address Iran’s ballistic missiles program, extend sunset clauses on centrifuges, and constrain Tehran’s destabilizing regional behavior.”

In 2015, Frankel opposed the JCPOA because of its sunset clauses and Iran’s malign actions were left unaddressed. Since the agreement, Iran has maintained its role as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. Most of the nuclear restrictions expire in 2026, thus legitimizing Iran’s program. With that said, Iran has by all counts been compliant with its obligations under the agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Tehran’s compliance with the agreement multiple times, and the U.S. intelligence community agrees.

This week Frankel wrote an op-ed calling on President Trump to maintain the JCPOA, while pursuing a supplemental agreement with European allies to fix its shortcomings.

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