Rep. Elaine Luria states opposition to Iranian nuclear program in resolution and letter

by | Mar 18, 2021 | Trending News

Congresswoman Elaine Luria is the primary sponsor of one piece of legislation condemning Iran’s nuclear program. A bipartisan group of House members joined Luria earlier this month to introduce the resolution, which condemns Iran’s decision to enrich uranium to 20% purity.

“Iran is a state-sponsor of terrorism and poses an existential threat to our national security and Israel, America’s strongest ally in the region,” Luria said in a statement. “Iran cannot be allowed to continue to progress towards a nuclear weapon and the United States must unequivocally condemn their provocations.”

In addition to noting that Iran is in violation of the decades-old Non-Proliferation Treaty, the resolution states that Iran’s continuing enrichment “is escalatory and intended to decrease breakout time to produce a nuclear weapon.” It also calls on Iran to “immediately reverse its decision… and abandon its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.”

Just days after this resolution, Luria joined 24 members of the House in another bipartisan letter, this time to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, calling for continued pressure on Iran. The letter asserts that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “did not sufficiently ensure Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon,” while calling on Blinken to work with U.S. allies—particularly Israel—and Congress to “outline a better, comprehensive deal with Iran” to confront its nuclear program and other activities.