J Street Applauds Feinstein-Murphy Resolution Supporting Diplomacy

January 26, 2015

J Street Vice President of Government Affairs Dylan Williams released the following statement on a resolution introduced today by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and nine of their colleagues in support of ongoing P5+1 nuclear negotiations with Iran:

J Street applauds the introduction of this resolution by many of the Senate’s greatest champions of Israel and diplomacy. J Street is urging Senators to cosponsor this legislation and will be lobbying in support of it in the coming weeks.

The legislation reflects the broad public consensus behind the administration’s diplomatic efforts as the best means to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and opposing the passage of new sanctions while negotiations are ongoing. It is a strong statement in support of the United States’ ironclad commitment to ensure that Americans, Israelis and other allies around the world are never faced with a nuclear-armed Iran.

This introduction of this clear-eyed resolution coincides with a growing understanding in Congress that legislating new sanctions at this time would set diplomacy back, threatening the multilateral sanctions regime and the international community’s ability to maintain the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program that have been put in place under the interim agreement. It articulates a position echoed in recent days by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Foreign Ministers of our closest European allies and senior figures in the Israeli security establishment.

This resolution serves as a responsible counterweight to those in Congress and beyond who are working to give Iran’s staunchest hardliners exactly what they want– a break-down in diplomacy and a return to the road to war.