Letter from 25 Former Foreign Ministers to the U.S. Congress in Support of the JCPOA

Several former foreign ministers, from the U.S. to Egypt and Israel, in an open letter to the U.S. Congress emphasized that there is no reason for the U.S. to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran and called for the U.S. to continue its commitment to the JCPOA. They urged Congress to remain committed to the JCPOA and refrain from any 'unilateral actions to expand, change, or renegotiate' the terms of the agreement. This letter, dated Wednesday, October 18, is addressed to Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader. Donald Trump, the U.S. President, who has always been a staunch opponent of the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, which was primarily architected by former President Barack Obama, ended several days of speculation on Friday, October 13, by expressing doubt about Iran's compliance with the agreement. Mr. Trump stated that 'based on credible information he has received, he is unable to confirm Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement.' With his announcement of non-certification of Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, the U.S. Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to continue the agreement or impose new sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, according to the statements and positions of other U.S. partners in the JCPOA and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic has remained committed to the terms of the nuclear agreement and has not deviated from it. This point is also emphasized in the open letter from the 25 former foreign ministers. They wrote: 'In the absence of evidence indicating that Iran has not complied with the agreement, there is no justification for the United States to withdraw from the JCPOA.' The open letter from the former foreign ministers includes signatures from Madeleine Albright from the U.S., Shlomo Ben-Ami from Israel, Joschka Fischer from Germany, Amr Moussa from Egypt, Marwan Muasher from Jordan, and George Papandreou from Greece. The signatories of the letter further warned that the result of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA would be a loss of the country's credibility and 'isolation from the international community.' They wrote: 'If the U.S. loses its credibility, the consequences of this loss of credibility for its own security and the security of its allies will be catastrophic.' This is not the first time that figures and officials from various countries have turned to the U.S. Congress to maintain the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic. Previously, foreign ministers and leaders from European countries have emphasized the importance of maintaining this agreement and have called on the U.S. Congress to support it. In this context, European Union foreign ministers have called for U.S. Congressional support for the Iranian nuclear agreement.