President’s Decision Creates Chaos, Uncertainty

Editor’s Note: U.S. Rep.’s Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) and Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) released the following statement on May 8^th after President Trump announced his decision to reinstate sanctions against Iran and withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA):

Rep. Ed Perlmutter

Today’s decision by President Trump creates more chaos and uncertainty which hurts our standing with our allies and jeopardizes international security. As a nuclear non-proliferation agreement, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was intended to limit Iran’s ability to develop or manufacture nuclear bombs and reduce nuclear tensions in the Middle East. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed Iran is complying with the terms of the JCPOA, as has President Trump’s own administration and our international allies. I supported the JCPOA because I believed it to be a positive, diplomatic solution in America’s best interests. President Trump’s decision to reinstate sanctions breaks America’s commitments under the JCPOA, hurts U.S. credibility abroad and does nothing to keep America safe.

Ed Perlmutter is a Congressman in Colorado’s 7th District.

Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham

President Trump’s shortsighted decision to unilaterally pull out of the JCPOA, strictly based on his domestic political agenda, creates another unnecessary, manufactured crisis that will produce uncertainty and instability in the Middle East, damage our credibility with our closest allies, and undermine our ability to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

American leadership is needed to address Iran’s nuclear ambitions, ballistic missiles, support for terrorism, and human-rights abuses but the President’s haphazard decision now leaves the country without a comprehensive strategy and undermines whatever leverage we have to pursue those goals.

Michelle Lujan Grisham is a Congresswoman in New México’s 1st District.

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva

Instead of seizing on an opportunity for the United States to be a global leader in peace and security, Trump once again elected to further discredit diplomatic efforts with his refusal to abide by the terms of the Iran Nuclear Deal. With the stroke of a pen, Trump ignored top diplomats, heads of state of our closest allies, leading experts, and findings from the International Atomic Energy Agency that all agree that Iran is successfully complying with the agreement.

This decision plays directly into the hands of the Iranian hardliners that Trump so adamantly disdains. Killing the deal—despite its success—will further inflame tensions in an already volatile region, embolden Iran to begin production of nuclear weapons, and severely weaken our global influence and credibility. Instead of discarding years of groundbreaking diplomatic efforts with rash decisions; I urge the Trump administration to improve upon the current deal, pursue a path of diplomacy with Iran, and work towards solutions that improve global peace and security.

Raúl M. Grijalva is a Congressman in Arizona’s 3^rd District.