Del. Lawmakers weigh in on sanctions lifted in Iran
Despite his reservations about the Iran Nuclear Deal, Senator Chris Coons continues to support it holding fast to what he told 47 ABC back in September.
“It is my hope that this shows some promise for a step forward in our relations with Iran, but I think we need to stay vigilant.” He told us Monday. “We need to remember that this is a country that is not worthy of our trust today and probably not tomorrow.”
The deal, negotiated by world nations and led by the U.S. lifted economic sanctions on Iran. This is in exchange of checks on its nuclear program.
A U.S. agency confirms those steps have been taken by Iran as of Saturday.
“So they’ve shipped outside of Iran, 12 tons, nearly their entire stockpile of enriched uranium.” Explains Senator Coons. “They have filled the core of a reactor that have produced weapons grade plutonium with concrete so it can’t function, and they have decommissioned 2/3 of its centerfuges and let the international atomic agency in to conduct surveillance real time for years to come of their entire nuclear program.”
Even with the release of American prisoners in Iran through what he called a “prisoner swap”, Senator Coons tells 47ABC it would not be wise for the U.S. to give Iran our immediate trust.
The swap freed five Americans detained in separate cases, some as early as 2011. In exchange, the U.S. has released seven Iranian nationals who have been connected to violations of economic or trade sanctions.
Senator Coons says he does not believe the people of Iran are “inherently evil or bad people”, but he says the U.S. needs to be mindful of the regime.
“The regime has opposed the United States and engaged in a whole series of disruptive and really unconstructive, one could even say evil, actions in the Middle East supporting Hezbollah and Hamma supporting the Houthi terrorists supporting the murderous regime of the Bashar al Assad.” He explains, “They have engaged in a whole series of actions that I think have earned the distrust of most of the rest of the world.”
U.S. Senator Tom Carper announced his support for the deal in late August.
He tells 47 ABC, there’s a fair amount of Iranian oil money in banks around the world. What this deal gives them is access to that money.
According to Senator Carper, this will improve their ability to travel and gain other resources.
“We think our roads, highways, bridges and roads are in bad shape here? They look great compared to what to have over there. They’re a mess.” Says Senator Carper.
Senator Carper says there are people who fear the leadership under Iranian president Hassan Rouhani but a lift in sanctions could possibly ease some of the tension.
“He [President Rouhani] needs to able to demonstrate…even though people are uneasy in Iran about doing some of this with us…the people in that country will benefit.” Explains Senator Carper.
We also reached out to Maryland congressman Andy Harris for a comment. Earlier this fall, Congressman Harris told 47ABC he did not support the nuclear deal.
In a statement released Monday, he says “The release of four Americans by Iran was in no way a gesture of good will. I continue to believe that we cannot trust a country who has a deplorable record of state sponsored terrorism, human rights abuses, and religious extremism. Lifting sanctions on Iran has put both the United States and our allies overseas in great danger.”
