Senator Johnny Isakson is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Committee and his office issued the following this afternoon.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Wednesday, August 19, 2015
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Marie Gordon,
770-661-0999
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Isakson Announces He Will Vote No on Iran Nuclear Agreement
‘I will not be part of any agreement that allows the Iranians to develop a nuclear weapon’
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced that he
will vote no on the nuclear agreement with Iran.
“This
will be one of the most important votes I will ever take as a member of
the Senate. I have said from day one that I will not be part of any
agreement that allows the Iranians to develop a
nuclear weapon.
“I
have spent countless hours in secure briefings, Foreign Relations
Committee hearings, and quiet study and reflection. I am afraid that if
this agreement is adopted, it will allow the Iranian
regime to industrialize its nuclear enrichment program. This agreement
will merely delay Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon rather than
eliminating Iran’s nuclear weapons capability.
“There
are a number of factors that led me to my decision to vote no on this
agreement. First, the agreement allows for phased nuclear enrichment as
well as a continuation of nuclear research and
development by Iran. Second, I am worried that this agreement will
further Iran’s arms shipping business in the Middle East by lifting the
conventional arms embargo after five years. Third, the deal gives up our
leverage up-front by relieving sanctions without
clarity on how Iran will be held accountable for violations of the
deal, especially for small infractions. Furthermore, Iran has stated
that any imposition of sanctions will be considered a breach of the
agreement, making it difficult for the United States
and our allies to hold Iran accountable for human rights violations and
terrorism.
“And
while I remain deeply concerned with what I have been able to review in
the Iran nuclear agreement, I am even more disturbed by the fact that
there are agreements between the IAEA and Iran
that Congress has not been allowed to read. These secret agreements
will serve as a baseline, yet we will not be able to know where that
line actually is. To vote for something that I am not allowed to read
would be an injustice to the people I represent.
“We
have been told that that a vote against the agreement is a vote for
war. I would suggest a vote against this agreement is a vote for
strength over appeasement. In my 33 years in business, the
best deals I ever negotiated were the ones where I was willing to walk
away from the table and started over. For the security of my country
and my grandchildren, we should say ‘no’ to this Iran deal.”
On July 22, 2015, Isakson
spoke on the floor of the Senate regarding his concerns with the agreement.
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