Collins, King Join Bipartisan Group in Urging Administration to Take Comprehensive Diplomatic Approach Towards Iran

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) joined 40 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Present Joe Biden outlining the pillars of a comprehensive diplomatic Iran strategy that will garner bipartisan support in Congress.  

“While we may have differing views on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of 2015 and the overall approach of the Trump Administration’s maximum pressure campaign, we must confront the reality that Iran has accelerated its nuclear activity in alarming ways including increasing its centrifuge research and production and enriching uranium up to 20 percent,” the Senators wrote.  “Iran should have no doubt about America’s policy. Democrats and Republicans may have tactical differences, but we are united on preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon and addressing the wide range of illicit Iranian behavior.”

The Senators urged President Biden to use the full force of our diplomatic and economic tools in concert with our allies to reach an agreement with Iran that prevents it from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon and meaningfully constrains its destabilizing activity throughout the Middle East and its ballistic missile program.  The Senators also urged the administration to prioritize human rights and the release of American citizens unjustly detained in Iran.

In addition to Senators Collins and King, the letter was signed by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-NC), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jim Risch (R-ID), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Boozman (R-AR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Hoeven (R-ND), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Gary Peters (D-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Richard Burr (R-NC), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Tim Scott (R-SC), Todd Young (R-IN), John Thune (R-SD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Mike Rounds (R-SD).

Click HERE to read the full letter.