Next Steps On Iran Nuclear Agreement

Statement

Throughout the entire Congressional debate over the Iran nuclear agreement, one thing has been clear: everyone, on both sides of the issue, is unwaveringly pro-Israel. While I believe that the best path to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is through the diplomacy of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, I have greatly appreciated the discussion and debate over the issue, and the spotlight it has brought to not only the safety and security of Israel, but our deep ties to our staunch ally.

Now is the time for all of us to come together behind the common thread of our beliefs--Israel is our strongest and most lasting ally in the Middle East and, together we must strengthen our resolve to remain Israel's strongest and most lasting ally.

Now is the time for implementing the agreement, but make no mistake, Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. The basis of this agreement moving forward is verification, not trust. Iran will be held to a rigid and rigorous scrutiny demanding their compliance with every word of the agreement. If they don't, it will be our duty to impose the full weight of the agreement's penalties and sanctions. All options, including military action, must remain open.

President Obama has also laid out an additional course of action based on four concerns my colleagues and I raised with him last month. The President must now move forward with his promised creation of a State Department office to oversee the implementation of the JCPOA agreement, and report its findings back to Congress on a regular basis. We need to move forward on the promised strengthening of our assistance to Israel, as well as the expansion of our intelligence sharing with our allies as it relates to Iran. Lastly, and most importantly, we must take all the steps we can to push back and prevent Iranian attempts to further destabilize the region.

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