MoveOn Criticizes Senate Democrats, Republicans for Passage of New Iran Sanctions Bill

Last week, the United States Senate voted in favor of passing new economic sanctions on Iran with overwhelming support, with the exception of Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VA) and Rand Paul (R-KY). The Iranian government is already calling the sanctions a breach of the Iran Nuclear deal, and policy analysts in the U.S. say such sanctions increase the risk of war between the United States and Iran.

Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org, had the following statement:

"We are deeply disappointed by the Senate's vote in favor of new sanctions on Iran and in particular by the fact that so many Senate Democrats supported this measure. Democrats in the Senate should be the American people's first line of defense against the destabilizing actions of the Trump administration. Senate Democrats should not be aligning themselves with neoconservatives edging us closer to unnecessary war.

"These potential sanctions could undermine the landmark Iran Nuclear Deal--the signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration, and a major priority of millions of MoveOn members nationwide. The Iran Deal reduced the likelihood of a costly, unnecessary war. The painstaking work of diplomacy, of building an international coalition, and a more stable relationship with Iran are all at risk because of this vote. What is worse, this bill seems to mark only the beginning of the policies the Trump administration has in store for undermining hard-earned diplomatic victories and inching the United States closer to more military conflict--which comes alongside and is no doubt influenced by increasing Islamophobia that is harming Muslims and others in the U.S. and abroad.

"Since Friday, MoveOn members have made nearly 5,000 calls to senators to express their disappointment and urge them to protect the Iran deal. As Senator Sanders said after voting in opposition, 'these new sanctions could endanger the very important nuclear agreement that was signed between the United States, its partners and Iran in 2015. That is not a risk worth taking.'"