Senator Kirk’s Blunt Talk on the Iran Nuclear Negotiations

Last week, Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk perfectly described the state of play on the second extension of the nuclear talks with Iran when he said, “We’re definitely getting played by the Iranians.”

Kirk also pointed out that sanctions relief provided to Iran as part of the seven-month extension gives the Iranians “another $5 billion in their coffers to support their nuclear weapons program.”  Kirk added in a statement: “Now more than ever, it’s critical that Congress enacts sanctions that give Iran’s mullahs no choice but to dismantle their illicit nuclear program and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency full and unfettered access to assure the international community’s security.”

Kirk recently made another insightful comment on this issue when he likened the Obama administration’s attempts to engage Iran in the fight against ISIS to “inviting an arsonist to join the fire department.”

Senator Kirk reportedly is working to put together a veto-proof majority in the next Congress to pass the Kirk-Menendez Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to put to a vote last December even though it bill had the support of 59 senators.

Hopefully, Senator Kirk will succeed in pushing a new version of this bill through the Senate that restores a responsible U.S. policy on the Iranian nuclear program by placing immediate sanctions on Iran until it complies with all UN Security Council resolutions on its nuclear program, cooperates with the IAEA and answers all outstanding questions about nuclear activities that appear to be related to weapons development.  The revamped Kirk-Menendez bill should also strip President Obama’s authority to waive congressional sanctions against Iran and require Congress review of any nuclear agreement with Tehran.

Senator Kirk is one of many members of Congress from both parties who recognize that the nuclear threat from Iran has continued to grow despite last year’s interim agreement with Tehran and a year of inconclusive talks.  Hopefully their efforts will shut down this administration’s disastrous nuclear diplomacy and lay the foundation for a new American approach that actually addresses the nuclear threat from Iran by dismantling its illicit nuclear program to prevent it from becoming a nuclear weapons state.