U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement calling on the Trump Administration to do more to hold Iran accountable after the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on 18 Iranian individuals, groups and networks over non-nuclear behavior following the Administration’s recertification of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.
“Despite promising to do more to hold Iran accountable for its belligerent behavior and ongoing efforts to undermine the effective terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Trump Administration is merely pursuing the same policies of the previous Administration. Meanwhile, numerous reports indicate that Iran continues technical infractions of the JCPOA and may still be seeking technology to build nuclear weapons while pursuing policies that threaten the national security interests of the United States. In the short tenure of his Administration, Iran has increased its regional influence in Iraq and Syria and continues to support terrorism throughout the world.
“While today’s new round of sanctions are a step in the right direction, the President must take a more forceful approach to vigorously enforce compliance with the JCPOA and counter Iran’s overall destabilizing activity. The White House should also unequivocally endorse the Iran and Russia sanctions legislation which passed the Senate by a vote of 98-2 and remains stalled in the House of Representatives without valid reason. There is much more to be done, and now is not the time for Congress or the White House to turn a blind eye to Iran’s increasingly hostile behavior.”
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