A delegation of 50 members of Congress petitioned the Trump administration on Wednesday to cancel a series of sanctions waivers that have permitted Iran to continue its most contested nuclear research, including at a military site known to have housed the Islamic Republic’s bomb program, according to a copy of the letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.), represents the strongest protest to date by lawmakers who view the waivers as an attempt by some deeply entrenched U.S. officials to keep the landmark nuclear deal on life support against the White House’s wishes.
The Free Beacon has reported multiple times in the past months on a protracted inter-agency battle between hardline officials in the administration who seek to nix the nuclear waivers and those who maintain they are necessary to keep Iran appeased. A growing number of lawmakers have expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s decision to continue renewing these sanctions waivers at a time when Iran is openly breaching international restrictions on the amount of enriched uranium it stockpiles inside the country.
The group of lawmakers are now demanding that the administration make good on its promises to wage a so-called “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. This would include killing the waivers permitting Iranian nuclear work and also pressuring the United Nations to invoke a mechanism that would restore the international community’s sanctions on Iran, most of which were lifted as part of the nuclear agreement. – READ MORE