Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement on the four-month extension of nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers.
“I don’t see an extension of funding to Iran as progress. It looks like the Iranians won extra time with a good cop-bad cop routine, backing off the Supreme Leader’s absurd claim for 190,000 centrifuges. This tells me Iran, with centrifuges spinning, thinks time is on its side. Increased economic pressure would strengthen our hand, but the Administration opposes it. It should welcome congressional efforts to ratchet up the economic pressure on Iran. Any deal should be graded on its technical merits, not in the hopes of a partnership with Iran on Iraq and other issues, as some have argued. Iran’s terrorist-backing activities, including illicitly shipping missiles to Hamas, demands even higher standards of verification for any deal. Everything about Iran’s nuclear program signals ‘nuclear bomb,’ yesterday, today, and I worry tomorrow."
Note: Under Chairman Royce’s leadership, the Committee has focused on preventing a nuclear Iran. Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) are the authors of H.R. 850, the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act, which increases pressure on the Iranian regime amid its continued efforts to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. Last week, Royce and Engel led an effort that resulted in 344 House Members calling on President Obama to consult Congress on Iran nuclear negotiations.
