OPINION:
May 8, 2023
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Biden,
Today marks five years since President Trump withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and introduced the “maximum pressure” campaign that worked so effectively to restore a deterrent against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Your administration has consistently advocated for a diplomatic approach characterized by preemptive measures to offer sanctions relief to the Islamic Republic of Iran. And while those efforts have not been successful to date, it is a harrowing prospect that the success and nature of those efforts depends not on leverage from the United States but rather on the preferences of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the efforts of our interlocutors – Communist China and Russia, our strategic adversaries. It is especially troubling that many of our European allies, who are the chief champions of this diplomatic course, fundamentally disagree with the notion that the Iranian regime is an adversary that poses threats to the American people.
In short, a deal with preemptive concessions offered by the United States, mediated by our top adversaries, and championed by Europeans who do not share the same threat assessment that Americans do, is a threat to Americans and their interests. Today, we write to urge you and your team to stop all diplomatic overtures toward the Islamic Republic of Iran and instead reimpose the “maximum pressure” campaign – the only effective policy to protect the American people, the Iranian people, and others in the region and around the world from the Islamic Republic’s threats. It was a campaign of isolation – diplomatic and economic – that worked in putting the regime on its heels, reining in its malign activities across the region, and restoring America’s deterrent against it.
If ever there was a time for the United States to take a firm stance against the Islamic Republic, that time is now. Just weeks ago, an American contractor was killed in Syria by an Iranian drone. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism, continues to pursue its malign activities around the world, including against the Iranian and American people. For months, countless brave Iranians, with women at their helm, have faced the brutality of the Khamenei regime as they take to the streets in the name of their freedom in the most historically significant demonstrations the country has experienced in decades. The Islamic Republic has either inspired or directed attacks against Americans on American soil, including targeting senior government officials and stabbings of individuals.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has a consistent record since its founding in 1979 of seeking destruction and harm to Americans, Iranians, and our allies around the world. Before 9/11, it was the sponsor of the single deadliest attack against Americans by a foreign adversary with the bombing of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 – a tragedy whose fortieth anniversary we just marked.
Today, the regime acts in an unrestrained manner, threatening our allies, partnering with our adversaries, and harming innocent individuals worldwide. For the second year in a row, Israel experienced waves of targeted terrorist attacks by groups backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Late last year, in an effort to distract attention from the protests in Iran, it escalated its threats against Saudi Arabia and northern Iraq. In 2021, the Islamic Republic of Iran signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with China. And as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Islamic Republic continues to supply it with military drones and other assets to aid its war effort. These growing alliances are but one reason why the U.S. should couple a return to a “maximum pressure” campaign with a comprehensive strategy to enhance our regional partners’ military capabilities.
Our call today is not only on behalf of the American people who are at direct risk by an emboldened Islamic Republic of Iran but on behalf of the Iranian people as well. They are the first to experience the brutal tactics of the Khamenei regime. Rest assured that, much as in 2015, any dime owned by the Iranian government will not go to the Iranian people but instead go toward funding their terrorist network around the world. The Iranian people and our friends in the region will be the first to suffer because of these choices.
The “maximum pressure” campaign is the only effective alternative to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a policy designed to address all of its malign activities, from its nuclear ambitions to its sponsorship of terrorism to its human rights abuses. The “maximum pressure” campaign is also distinct in being consistent in both policy goals and implementation. And it allows for all opportunities for the Islamic Republic of Iran to come to the negotiating table eventually, but only if it changes its behavior and intent. A deal is possible, but it must come under certain conditions that the Islamic Republic should be expected to meet. The United States should never pre-emptively set the negotiating table with concessions, not least with an adversary with four decades of rhetoric and actions targeting the United States and the American people. The approach of preemptively offering sanctions relief and that trust in the regime is entirely misplaced and reckless given the regime’s record of lying about its nuclear program.
The alternative exists, and that alternative is a policy of “maximum pressure.” We, the undersigned, ask that you embrace this alternative approach and do so today. We urge you to put America First by embracing this approach, and not prioritizing the consensus of Europeans, who do not share our perspective on the gravity of the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Sincerely,
The Honorable Robin Bernstein
U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (ret.)
The Honorable Ken Blackwell
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (ret.)
The Honorable Lynda Blanchard
U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia (ret.)
Sen. Norm Coleman
The Honorable David B. Cornstein
U.S. Ambassador to Hungary (ret.)
The Honorable Fred Fleitz
Vice Chair, Center for American Security
America First Policy Institute
The Honorable Ronald Gidwitz
U.S. Ambassador to Belgium and Acting U.S. Ambassador to the European Union (ret.)
The Honorable James S. Gilmore, III
U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (ret.)
The Honorable Callista L. Gingrich
President and CEO, Gingrich 360
U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (ret.)
The Honorable George E. Glass
U.S. Ambassador to Portugal (ret.)
The Honorable Ric Grenell
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence and U.S. Ambassador to Germany (ret.)
The Honorable Jason D. Greenblatt
Former White House Envoy to the Middle East
The Honorable Robert Greenway
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Middle East and North African Affairs; Adjunct Fellow, Hudson Institute
The Honorable Pete Hoekstra
U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands (ret.)
Former Member of Congress
The Honorable Ronald Johnson
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador (ret.)
Lt. Gen. (ret.). Keith Kellogg
Co-Chair, Center for American Security
America First Policy Institute
The Honorable Stephen B. King
U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic (ret.)
The Honorable W. Robert Kohorst
U.S. Ambassador to Croatia (ret.)
The Honorable Jamie McCourt
U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco (ret.)
The Honorable John Ratcliffe
6th U.S. Director of National Intelligence
Former Member of Congress
The Honorable Brooke L. Rollins
President & CEO, America First Policy Institute
Former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
The Honorable Carla Sands
Vice Chair, Center for Energy and Environment, America First Policy Institute
U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark (ret.)
Mr. Cliff Sims
Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications
The Honorable Donald R. Tapia
U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica (ret.)
The Honorable Robert Wilkie
Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs; former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; Distinguished Fellow, Center for American Security, America First Policy Institute
The Honorable Chad F. Wolf
Executive Director, America First Policy Institute
Former Acting Secretary of Homeland Security
The Honorable Stephen Yates
Senior Fellow and Chair, China Policy Initiative, America First Policy Institute
Former Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs
The Honorable Adrian Zuckerman
U.S. Ambassador to Romania (ret.)
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