Sec. 2. Findings

329 words·~1 min read·/bill/113/s/2672/is/section-2

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Congress makes the following findings: A nuclear-capable Iran poses a direct and existential threat to the United States, Israel, and allies around the world. Iran is a leading state sponsor of terrorism, arming and funding terrorist groups around the world, including by providing material support for the terrorist organization Hamas in its relentless attacks on Israel. The Government of Iran has violated United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), and 1929 (2010), relating to Iran’s nuclear program.

The Government of Iran has received significant economic benefits from the relaxation of economic sanctions pursuant the Joint Plan of Action, signed November 24, 2013, by Iran and by France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the United States (in this section referred to as the Joint Plan of Action ), including increased economic growth, reduced inflation, and a strengthened currency, while making no substantive reductions in its nuclear program.

Any deal relating to Iran's nuclear weapons program that does not completely dismantle the entire nuclear weapons program would repeat the same mistakes observed with negotiations with North Korea, a totalitarian country that exported its nuclear technology to Syria and has shared similar nuclear and ballistic missile technology with Iran. The Agreed Framework between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, signed in Geneva on October 21, 1994, which called for North Korea to freeze and dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for eased sanctions and normalized relations with the United States, should serve as a reminder of previous failed negotiations resulting in billions of dollars made available for the development of nuclear weapons.

Economic sanctions imposed with respect to Iran are designed for the purpose of ending Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, not of initiating negotiations. Therefore, any easing of sanctions in pursuit of negotiations undermines the purpose of the sanctions, as is demonstrated by the case of North Korea.