Iran

J Street believes that Iran obtaining nuclear weapons would pose a very serious threat to American and Israeli interests and to peace and stability in the Middle East and around the world. J Street strongly condemns the Iranian regime’s vile anti-American, anti-Israeli and antisemitic rhetoric, its outrageous support for acts of international terrorism, its destabilizing and bloody meddling in the affairs of its neighbors, its buildup of weapons and forces in Syria, its sale of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine and its deplorable domestic human rights record.

J Street therefore strongly endorses a diplomacy-first approach to ensure that the Iranian regime does not develop a nuclear weapon and to address the other threats it poses to our allies and the region.

To that end, J Street strongly supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed to by Iran, the United States and five major world powers on July 14, 2015. We worked tirelessly to ensure the agreement was not rejected by Congress because it blocked all of Iran’s paths to developing a nuclear weapon and was underpinned by a robust regime of international monitoring and inspections. While it was fully implemented, the JCPOA advanced US security interests and removed an existential threat to Israel.

We, therefore, regarded Donald Trump’s decision in May of 2018 to violate and abandon the JCPOA as not just an egregious foreign policy blunder, but an unprovoked and unjustified assault on international peace and security. Trump’s abrogation of the agreement — coupled with his administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign of leveling ever-increasing sanctions and belligerent rhetoric against Iran — resulted in a security and diplomatic disaster for the United States. Iran resumed some of its most sensitive nuclear activities, while its hardliners, empowered and emboldened by Trump’s approach, ramped up their destabilizing activities in the region and openly launched missiles against US troops.

Like a super-majority of American Jewish voters, J Street supports the Biden Administration’s efforts to reestablish a diplomacy-first approach to addressing threats posed by Iran, including talks aimed at once again restraining Iran’s nuclear activities so that it never obtains a nuclear weapon.

J Street also supported legislative efforts to prevent the unauthorized use of military force against Iran, as well as legislation to disengage the US military from involvement in the Yemen conflict.