Don’t Let Congress Sabotage Diplomacy With Iran

Don’t Let Congress Sabotage Diplomacy With Iran

Don’t Let Congress Sabotage Diplomacy With Iran

The Obama administration is in the midst of negotiating a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear program but a bill introduced by Senator Robert Menendez could destroy this historic opportunity.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

The Obama administration is in the midst of negotiating a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear program but a bill introduced by Senator Robert Menendez could destroy this historic opportunity.

The Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act would force new sanctions, which could lead to Iran abandoning diplomatic talks. It would also set up unrealistic parameters for a deal and express the sense of Congress that the United States would “stand with Israel” should the country take “military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”

Fifty-nine senators—including sixteen Democrats—have signed on to the bill as co-sponsors. While some supporters have indicated they may wait to give diplomacy a chance, it’s still possible that this potentially disastrous piece of legislation could pass.

TO DO

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has so far refused to bring the Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act up for a vote. Join The Nation, Daily Kos, Code Pink, USAction and Win Without War in calling on Reid to continue to stand strong against pro-war senators.

TO READ

The Nation’s Bob Dreyfuss breaks down the catastrophic effect this bill would have on the possibility of peace with Iran.

TO WATCH

This week on All In, Chris Hayes took to task the sixteen Democratic senators who co-sponsored the bill, comparing their support to Democrats’ support for the Iraq War in 2003 and imploring them not to drag the country into another conflict.

Disobey authoritarians, support The Nation

Over the past year you’ve read Nation writers like Elie Mystal, Kaveh Akbar, John Nichols, Joan Walsh, Bryce Covert, Dave Zirin, Jeet Heer, Michael T. Klare, Katha Pollitt, Amy Littlefield, Gregg Gonsalves, and Sasha Abramsky take on the Trump family’s corruption, set the record straight about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s catastrophic Make America Healthy Again movement, survey the fallout and human cost of the DOGE wrecking ball, anticipate the Supreme Court’s dangerous antidemocratic rulings, and amplify successful tactics of resistance on the streets and in Congress.

We publish these stories because when members of our communities are being abducted, household debt is climbing, and AI data centers are causing water and electricity shortages, we have a duty as journalists to do all we can to inform the public.

In 2026, our aim is to do more than ever before—but we need your support to make that happen. 

Through December 31, a generous donor will match all donations up to $75,000. That means that your contribution will be doubled, dollar for dollar. If we hit the full match, we’ll be starting 2026 with $150,000 to invest in the stories that impact real people’s lives—the kinds of stories that billionaire-owned, corporate-backed outlets aren’t covering. 

With your support, our team will publish major stories that the president and his allies won’t want you to read. We’ll cover the emerging military-tech industrial complex and matters of war, peace, and surveillance, as well as the affordability crisis, hunger, housing, healthcare, the environment, attacks on reproductive rights, and much more. At the same time, we’ll imagine alternatives to Trumpian rule and uplift efforts to create a better world, here and now. 

While your gift has twice the impact, I’m asking you to support The Nation with a donation today. You’ll empower the journalists, editors, and fact-checkers best equipped to hold this authoritarian administration to account. 

I hope you won’t miss this moment—donate to The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel 

Editor and publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x