Dear friends,

It’s been 275 days since Biden was inaugurated, 275 days since the Biden administration should have rejoined the Iran Nuclear Deal. This week, we were shocked by the revelation that one of the factors preventing Iran from getting back into the deal is this: If Iran returns to compliance, President Biden is still refusing to commit to lifting sanctions on Iran for the remainder of his term. This is appalling!

Read our letter to U.S. Envoy on Iran Rob Malley and add your name. We don’t think Malley is behind the Biden administration’s bad faith negotiating. Malley was the lead negotiator that got us into the deal in 2015. A true believer in diplomacy, he has called U.S. Middle East policy "a litany of failed enterprises" requiring "self-reflection.” But since he is in a key position negotiating this deal, we are appealing to him to do all that he can to stop Biden from sabotaging the campaign promises he made.

When negotiations were taking place in March, the Iranians insisted that should the JCPOA be revived, the U.S. would make a legally binding commitment that it would not quit the deal again. The U.S. negotiating team responded that it wasn’t possible to bind the hands of future U.S. administrations. The Iranians then lowered their demand to only be a commitment from Biden that he would commit to staying in the deal for the rest of his own term. But, according to the story that broke in Responsible Statecraft, the White House’s position is that it is not ready for such a commitment.

Add your name to our letter to Rob Malley asking him to do everything that he can to get the Biden administration to negotiate fairly. A commitment to abide by the deal while in office should be a no-brainer.

Sanctions have been causing immense suffering in Iran. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Iran’s economy was in shambles because of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. Unable to get the medical equipment and medicines they need, Iran has experienced one of the worst COVID outbreaks in the Middle East, with at least 120,000 having died so far. According to Iranian welfare authorities, over 50,000 children in Iran have lost a parent to COVID-19. On top of this, with the nuclear deal no longer in place, Iran has been enriching uranium to higher and higher numbers. There is no time to waste, the deal must be resealed and sanctions must be lifted. Join our letter to U.S. Envoy on Iran Rob Malley now.

Towards peace,
Ariel, Leila, Medea, and the entire CODEPINK team