Senator Joe Manchin of West Virgnia recently expressed serious concerns about the White House’s troubling nuclear agreement with Iran. The moderate Democrat expressed his serious concerns in a letter addressed to Anthony Blinken, the current Secretary of State, as reported by Politico.
Manchin has been a long-term critic of the nuclear agreement with Iran, serving as one of only four other Democrats in his party to openly oppose the Obama administration’s overtures to Iran in 2015.
Manchin declared that he would “do everything in [his] power to ensure we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Manchin joins alongside a list of several Democrats who have openly stated that they are largely opposed to removing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the nation’s foreign terrorism list.
The United States would allegedly remove the IRGC from its list in exchange for Tehran ostensibly not advancing its nuclear program beyond previously agreed upon limits.
Manchin, however, distrusting the Iranians, is more likely to vote alongside the Republicans to disapprove of the new nuclear deal with Iran. Fortunately, since this vote requires a supermajority, or 60 votes, it is highly unlikely that the beneficial nuclear deal for Iran will pass.
If the Senate fails to approve the agreement, the failure will represent a major symbolic victory for major opponents of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Manchin also openly warned Biden against turning to a nation that sponsors terrorism for oil, as reported by Newsweek, Manchin proclaimed that the administration was merely easing sanctions in order to secure less expensive oil, given the astronomical heights that gas prices have reached in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Let me be clear: The IRGC is a terrorist organization,” Manchin declared in his letter.
Manchin also observed the real long-term risks that can emerge in exchange for short-term relief at the gas pump.
“We must not be shortsighted in the use of sanctions relief to mitigate our present energy challenges,” Manchin said pointedly.
