Congressman Jim Moran Weighs in on Iran Agreement

Congressman Jim Moran, who represents Falls Church in Congress, released the following statement on the agreement reached between the P5+1 countries and Iran on Iran’s nuclear program:

“I am gratified and hopeful that the interim agreement reached by the United States and the rest of the P5+1 over the weekend in Geneva will make a final and comprehensive deal possible.

“The sanctions relief offered Iran is, according to the White House, "limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible." The most onerous components of the sanctions infrastructure -- banking, financial, and petroleum measures costing Iran $30 billion in lost revenue -- remain in place pending further negotiations.

“In return for a waiver limited to certain exports, Iran's government has agreed to suspend much of its nuclear program.

“As a result, Iran is further away from developing a nuclear weapon than it was last Friday. This is only a first step towards ending the conflict, but it is an historic moment that lays the groundwork for a comprehensive and durable resolution.

“The constant clamor in Congress for ever tougher sanctions against Iran has at times obscured the fact that economic sanctions are but one tool among many elements of statecraft necessary to enhance our security and advance our interests. President Obama's overtures to the Iranian people in 2009 set the stage for this weekend's milestone agreement.

“The US negotiators, notably Secretary John Kerry, Deputy Secretary Bill Burns, and Under Secretary Wendy Sherman, have demonstrated the full array of that statecraft and vindicated the President's approach.

“The coming months will bring many challenges as the United States and our allies seek to compel Iran to meet the terms of the agreement. Not least among those challenges is the long history of Iran's aggression against our allies in the Persian Gulf, Israel, and the Levant. But the world is safer as a result of the Administration's efforts, and the global community more hopeful that decades of hostility between Iran and the West may finally end.”