Group of Senators Urges Biden to Strengthen Deterrence; Activate the Snapback Mechanism

A group of lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate and House of Representatives is urging Joe Biden to increase efforts to "deter the Islamic Republic" from acquiring "nuclear weapons," including collaborating with European allies to "restore" UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic. According to Jewish Insider, the common message of these letters is the necessity to strengthen efforts to "deter the Islamic Republic" from achieving "nuclear weapons capability." The senators' letter states that we must "make it clear" to the Islamic Republic that "further advancement" in its "nuclear program" will face "unified international action." The authors of these letters are asking Biden to prioritize an "active deterrence posture" and manage the strengthening of the international community's resolve for this goal. These letters were prepared under the leadership of Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Senator James Lankford, as well as Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger and Republican Dan Crenshaw, for the AIPAC policy priority meeting in Washington, and while they differ somewhat in content, they carry a common message from a lobby. Both letters argue that if Iran crosses the 90 percent purity threshold required for weaponization, the government should cooperate with its allies to enforce UN sanctions. The United States previously attempted to implement the "snapback mechanism" during Trump's presidency, which would allow the U.S. to reimpose all sanctions on Tehran without the possibility of veto by UN Security Council members if Iran did not comply with the agreement. However, this effort was not accepted by other signatories after the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA, as the European signatory countries—Britain, Germany, and France—showed no willingness to do so. The letters state: "The United States must increase its efforts to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability and make it unequivocally clear to Iran that any further advancement in its nuclear program will have severe consequences." Both letters also emphasize concerns about Iran's growing relations with Russia and China, linking Iran's nuclear issue to other major global challenges for the United States. The Islamic Republic claims that it enriches uranium for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. has repeatedly emphasized that Iran's actions to produce uranium enriched to 60 percent "have no credible peaceful purpose and no other country in the world today uses uranium enriched to 60 percent for the purposes claimed by the Islamic Republic." Concerns from the U.S. and Europe regarding a recent IAEA report on Iran's nuclear activities are highlighted, with Blinken stating that diplomacy is the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Zarif spoke online about the JCPOA, Israel's policies against Iran, and "cooperation with NIAC." The negative reactions from the U.S. and Europe to the recent IAEA report on Iran's nuclear actions are noted, as well as the U.S. response to the unveiling of Iran's "hypersonic" missile, affirming commitment to counter Iran's missile program. Senator Jim Risch's response to sanctions on individuals and entities related to the Islamic Republic's missile program is mentioned, along with Israel's response to the unveiling of "Fattah," asserting they always have a better response to counter the boasts of Israel's enemies. Blinken reiterated that Iran will never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, and an advisor to the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiation team stated that they should first resolve the IAEA's issues before reaching an agreement.