Kaptur Full Statement on P5+1 Iran Deal
I support the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, negotiated by the five permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council, led by the U.S. (Great Britain, Russia, France, China, plus Germany), which secures a global plan of action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It positions the Middle East region and the world on a path toward greater security and peace, if the terms of the Agreement are implemented and verified effectively.Though there is no certain guarantee that the global community will be successful in this critical endeavor, this alone should not preclude the world community from a concerted effort to block Iran’s pathway to nuclear capabilities.
Disassembling Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Platform
This Agreement prohibits Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon. Step by careful step, it requires Iran to disassemble its existing nuclear weapons program. To ensure compliance, Iran will be subjected to rigorous monitoring and oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose efforts will be supported by intelligence of partner nations. As part of the Agreement, Iran will be allowed to develop nuclear power for electricity and medical use. Nuclear electric power requires significantly lower enrichment levels than are required to develop nuclear weapons (90% enrichment). The Agreement reflects that difference, holding all uranium enrichment in Iran to 3.67%. The Agreement completely blocks plutonium enrichment, which is necessary for weapons development.
Applying Global Sanctions
This historic Agreement has resulted from stiff economic sanctions on Iran dating back to 2006, imposed through multiple U.N. resolutions. Those sanctions have seriously hampered Iran’s internal economic growth and developed an opening, leading Iran to seek relief now.
The Agreement provides no sanctions relief until Iran has taken verifiable steps to permanently disarm its nuclear weapons program including dismantling its entire stockpile of highly enriched nuclear material. If Iran makes real progress in dismantling its path to a nuclear weapon, it will have the opportunity to gradually develop a more stable economy as certain economic sanctions are lifted. Again, this measure is contingent on rigorous and unprecedented inspection verification by the IAEA, which will receive considerable additional resources.
Without this Agreement, there are no assurances that even U.S. allies would maintain sanctions. Many have already given up significant financial gain through this sanctions regime, which was put in place to secure a deal to prevent Iran from ever garnering a nuclear weapon.
Dismantles Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Capability
Iran will be required to take immediate steps to significantly reduce its nuclear capabilities including dismantling two-thirds of its installed centrifuges (dropping from over 19,000 to 5,060) and limiting low-level uranium enrichment for domestic power to a single facility. Iran will be required to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98 percent and will be limited to 300 kilograms of low-enriched material for at least the next 15 years. This will eliminate immediately Iran’s capability of producing even a single nuclear weapon, an urgent step as Iran currently possesses enough enriched uranium to produce about ten nuclear weapons.
These conditions move Iran further away from nuclear weapon capability by extending Iran’s breakout time, which is currently only two to three months. Strict limitations on research and development will also be imposed further inhibiting weapons development.
Secures Snapback of Sanctions for Violations
Under the Agreement, there will be an automatic snapback of multilateral sanctions if Iran violates the deal at any time for the next decade. These snapback provisions are unprecedented. If Iran appears to even hesitate in its permanent turn away from nuclear weapons, the U.S. and other P5+1 nations determine the level of punitive action deemed necessary. As part of the Agreement, Russia and China will not be able to veto a snapback.
During years 11 through 15, the P5+1 nations have also agreed that all will re-impose sanctions if Iran violates the terms of the agreement. This Agreement does not stop at year 15. Iran has committed that under no circumstances will it ever seek to develop or acquire any nuclear weapon with the text of the Agreement’s “Preamble and General Provisions.” If at any time Iran violates these terms, the U.S. will have the support and cooperation of the entire international community to intervene as needed. Without this Agreement, America cannot guarantee the world community’s support.
Maintains a Strong U.S. Defense with Security for Israel and Gulf States
The United States does not relinquish any enforcement options under this Agreement, including military options. We are the world’s preeminent military power, spending more on defense than the next seven countries combined. Meanwhile, Iran spends about two percent of the U.S.’s annual defense budget. The U.S. and Russia possess more than 90 percent of the global nuclear warhead inventories (16,000 in world total). The signatory nations, as well as the supporting nations, possess adept military superiority, along with very significant defense and intelligence capabilities. None of this is new to Iran. If Iran violates this agreement, the U.S. and its allies are committed to re-impose economic sanctions and maintain military options. That includes the full defense of Israel, as well as expansion of essential military assets, foreign assistance, and necessary equipment to assure her security.
Throughout these negotiations, Israel’s protection and vital interests of adjoining Gulf States have been a central concern. A comprehensive inspection regime of Iran’s nuclear complex and the systematic elimination of Iran’s nuclear weapons program form the surest pathway to guarantee Israel’s and the Gulf States’ long term security. Israel does not stand alone. The U.S. will maintain extensive support through foreign assistance, military financing and munitions, and state of the art defense assets, such as the Iron Dome system and F-35 Fighter jets. Many prominent current and former Israeli security and intelligence officers, including the former heads of Mossad, Israel Defense Forces, and numerous credible U.S. and Israeli experts on the region recognize this truth and have expressed their support for the Agreement.
Imposes Strict Inspections for Verification
Iran’s record of adherence to prior non-proliferation goals shows that she cannot be trusted. That is why the Agreement’s primary aim–to stop Iran’s pathway to a nuclear weapon– is not predicated on trust. It requires stringent inspections to verify that Iran does not, and will not, pursue a nuclear weapon. This verification process includes U.S.-trained IAEA inspectors that will monitor Iran’s nuclear program at every stage, from mining and milling, through conversion, enrichment, and manufacturing, nuclear reactors sites, and finally the waste of spent fuel.
Critics argue that 24/7 access everywhere is necessary to block Iran from reestablishing covert nuclear activity. This is simply not consistent with the science and practice of nuclear inspections. The level of access mandated under this Agreement is unprecedented. It includes 24/7 monitoring of Iran’s nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Fordow, and Arak. An agreement between Iran and the IAEA known as the “Additional Protocol” ensures the IAEA can access any undeclared suspicious location referred to as “anytime anywhere” inspections. If the IAEA inspectors identify any activity that causes concern, they will be granted access or Iran will be in violation of the Agreement. Any nuclear activity connected to nuclear nanoparticles (as small as 0.112) can be detected for very extended periods of time.
Maintains U.S. Sanctions on Ballistic Missiles and Arms Embargo
The U.N. sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program will be preserved for at least eight years, and the arms embargo for at least five years. The U.S. will maintain its own strict sanctions on both, including components, to counter Iran’s destabilizing actions in the region and allow sufficient time to evaluate Iran’s intent. None the less, concerns surrounding Iran’s increased ability to support terrorist activity as sanctions end are very real. America is in the best position to combat these threats with the Agreement because the international community will remain a collaborative partner. The same cannot be said if America acts alone or walks away from this Agreement.
Offers a Sliver of Hope to a Violent Region
The 20th century quest for the Middle East’s diminishing petroleum reserves, along with the unjustified U.S. invasion in Iraq, has yielded an entire region of our world in violent conflict. The Middle East gave birth to the city-state and the earliest human settlements. It is now dominated by oil rich, theocratic regimes easily characterized as repressive, brutal, and undemocratic, with legions of citizens broken by poverty and war. Even now, the world witnesses hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing to escape the vortex to hell characterized by the region’s continuing death, destruction, and chaos. This deal presents a sliver of hope for peaceful progress in the region, for our dearest friend, Israel, and our Gulf allies. It highlights a realizable path of possibility rather than one of foreboding, buoyed by rigorous and strict verification processes supported by the global community.
Iran holds effective reach over more than half of the world's remaining oil reserves, which will become more sought-after as the century progresses. Many experts argue that by 2050 the world will have reached the tipping point on diminishing oil supplies. Thus, peaceful development of those reserves could elevate the economic well being of that region and supply global demand; but if misused, or if the Straits of Hormuz were to be blocked for political reasons to do damage to the world community, a nuclear Iran holds the potential to do great harm.
As a Member of the Defense and Energy Subcommittees on the House Appropriations Committee, I have carefully analyzed the details of the JCPOA to ensure U.S. national security and that of our allies. I have had many detailed conversations with constituents, experts, diplomats, military and intelligence officers, and distinguished public servants who have dedicated their lives to the security of America, her allies, and the greater good of the global community. After weighing all options and alternatives, studying the international implications and exploring all foreseeable outcomes, I have determined that the Iran Nuclear Deal, negotiated and agreed to by the P5+1 nations, is a course of action that could bring about a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions. It is the only course that holds Iran accountable and maintains the threat of global sanctions, and does not preclude military action if Iran violates the Agreement.