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JCPOA Org Letter to Biden Administration
WASHINGTON
Today, twenty organizations released a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressing support for the Biden administration's vital efforts to restore the JCPOA. The twenty signatories - representing veterans groups, nonproliferation experts, activists and diverse communities within the United States - recognize the vital importance of restoring the agreement and moving off the path to military confrontation with Iran. As we reach the final stages of negotiations on the JCPOA, the letter highlights the risks of collapse and supports assurances and mechanisms that guard against a future withdrawal from the agreement.
According to the letter, "All parties in the negotiations now acknowledge that a path to returning to the deal is within reach, which presents the Biden administration with a stark choice. Finalize a restoration of the JCPOA and restore far-reaching constraints on Iran's nuclear program, or risk being trapped in the failed maximum pressure policies the Trump administration enacted."
Below are featured quotes from representatives of some of the groups signing the letter:
"These groups represent millions of Americans, from activists to nonproliferation experts to veterans, reaffirming the fact that a strong majority of Americans support a return to the Iran Deal. This policy consensus is as clear as the historical record: the JCPOA is widely supported because it was effective in blocking Iran's paths to a bomb, while Donald Trump's abandonment of it has led to a surge in Iran's nuclear activities and even put us at the brink of war." - Dylan Williams, J Street
"The Biden administration has a green light from the public and from Congress to restore a vital nonproliferation agreement that is overwhelmingly in the U.S. interest. President Biden must seize this opportunity, veer off the path to military confrontation with Iran, ease crushing sanctions and restore the most significant agreement between the U.S. and Iran in decades."
- Ryan Costello, National Iranian American Council
"The only thing that has a history of success around Iran's nuclear program is diplomacy. That's why it's crucial for the Biden Administration to continue talks so that we can secure an outcome that is good for the people of the US and in Iran." - Sara Haghdoosti, Win Without War
"There is no doubt that the JCPOA enhances US national security as it prevents Iran's pathways to a bomb as well as a disastrous confrontation with Iran. The previous administration did a massive disservice to the security of Americans by pulling out and the Biden administration should be commended for seeking to right this wrong. The administration has the public's support in this and should not be deterred by those who prefer confrontation over a deal."
- Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Letter text:
February 8, 2022
Secretary of State Antony Blinken
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20521
Mr. Jake Sullivan
21600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Secretary Blinken and Mr. Sullivan,
As diplomatic momentum builds and gaps narrow in multilateral negotiations in Vienna, Austria, we write to urge the Biden administration to finalize a restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
All parties in the negotiations now acknowledge that a path to returning to the deal is within reach, which presents the Biden administration with a stark choice. Finalize a restoration of the JCPOA and restore far-reaching constraints on Iran's nuclear program, or risk being trapped in the failed maximum pressure policies the Trump administration enacted.
Many of those who cheered as Trump sabotaged the JCPOA have already made clear that the maximum pressure road ends in a full-blown war between the U.S. and Iran. A turn away from diplomacy toward a war of choice with Iran would be incredibly detrimental to U.S. national security. Such a war would likely engulf the region in chaos, involve substantial civilian and military casualties and ultimately incentivize Iran to drive firmly toward a nuclear deterrent. As the former head of Israel's Iran military intelligence unit said, "there is no magic solution to Iran's nuclear program, especially not through an attack."
Likewise, those who have cautioned delay and prioritized pressure over good-faith diplomacy have been proven wrong. Trump's coercive approach has led to a harmful stalemate and predictably triggered dramatic escalation in the Iranian nuclear program. For the people of Iran, U.S. sanctions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have exacted a harsh toll. Similarly, recent calls to break off talks prematurely were followed by continued progress toward a restoration of the deal.
Fortunately, it is clear that the Iran nuclear agreement remains overwhelmingly in the U.S. interest, and that the nonproliferation benefits of restoring the deal would be immediate and significant. The political window also remains open, as nearly every Democratic lawmaker in Congress has supported your diplomatic efforts and given your administration ample space to strike a deal. Particularly as the party that breached the deal in 2018, it is vital that the United States continue to press toward a successful conclusion of negotiations. Our collective organizations urge you to follow through on your commitment to restore the agreement.
As you seek a diplomatic breakthrough, you should consider the very real sources of Iran's reticence over lack of clarity on how long sanctions relief can last. This reticence will not be overcome by military bluster or the already-failed approach of maximum pressure. It can only be overcome by ensuring sanctions relief is restored fully and in a durable manner. Moreover, assurances and mechanisms that deter against any future unjustified exit from the JCPOA ultimately serve U.S. interests, as it would be tremendously detrimental to American security if Iran is once again incentivized to ignore restrictions on its nuclear program. Thanks to the diplomacy of the past few months, the JCPOA may miraculously survive Trump's exit from the agreement. There is no reason to believe, however, that the agreement could survive a second American exit.
There are many issues that the U.S. and Iran must address through diplomacy, including freedom for dual nationals unjustly detained in Iran and heightened regional tensions. The best way to address these issues is to press forward and finalize a restoration of the JCPOA, not turn away from the negotiating table and double down on a failed approach.
As supporters of the JCPOA and your administration's efforts to restore the agreement, we stand ready to support and defend a restoration of the agreement against bad faith and partisan opponents.
Sincerely,
Americans for Peace Now
Council for a Livable World
Demand Progress Education Fund
Foreign Policy for America
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
Global Zero
Indivisible
J Street
MoveOn
National Iranian American Council
Peace Action
Peace Corps Iran Association
Ploughshares Fund
Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Rethinking Foreign Policy
Truman Center for National Policy
Truman National Security Project
VoteVets
Win Without War
Women's Action for New Directions (WAND)
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community. From being the trusted voice on U.S.- Iran relations, to pushing forth legislation that protects individuals of Iranian heritage from systematic discrimination, to celebrating our cultural heritage, NIAC creates a lasting impact in the lives of the members of our community.
(202) 386-6325LATEST NEWS
More War in Latin America Feared as Farmers Describe Torture From US-Ecuadorian ‘Operation Total Extermination’
An Ecuadorian human rights group has called for a probe after “bombings, burning of homes, arbitrary detentions, torture, and threats against the civilian population” by the joint US-Ecuadorian military operation.
Mar 24, 2026
Just a day after President Donald Trump suggested that he'd use his crushing economic blockade in a bid to "take" Cuba, an administration official said much more American warfare is on the horizon across Latin America.
It's called "Operation Total Extermination," according to Joseph M. Humire, the acting assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, who testified last week before the House Armed Services Committee.
Humire explained in written testimony that beginning on March 3, the US Department of Defense (which the Trump administration refers to as the Department of War) "supported, at the request of Ecuador, bilateral kinetic actions against cartel targets along the Colombia-Ecuador border."
"The joint effort," Humire said, "is the start of a military offensive by Ecuador against transnational criminal organizations with the support of the US, setting the pace for regional, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure throughout Latin America and the Caribbean."
The operation with Ecuador, led by the right-wing president Daniel Noboa, is part of "Operation Southern Spear," the Trump administration's illegal bombing campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, targeted at boats accused, with little evidence, of ferrying drugs to the US.
The latest of these bombings, which killed at least two more people, occurred on Friday and brought the total death toll since September of last year up to at least 160.
No casualty counts have yet been released by the US or Ecuadorian government for its operations to target what they said were "domestic terrorist organizations." But reports from those on the ground suggest they may have been similarly bloody.
Víctor Gómez, a journalist for the Ecuadorian outlet Radio Sucumbíos, conducted interviews with the residents of the rural town of San Martín in northeastern Ecuador near the Colombian border, who said their community was attacked twice by Ecuadorian and American forces on March 3 and 6.
Noboa celebrated the attacks on the area, which he said housed "a training ground for drug traffickers," and reportedly the home of "Mono Tole," who is the leader of the Colombian drug trafficking group known as the Border Commandos.
But Gómez described the town as having "no trenches, no firing ranges, no traces of a clandestine military infrastructure," adding that "the only things there are horses, cows, and donkeys, at least that's what can be seen on the Radio Sucumbíos cameras."
Locals, many of whom did not have their names published to avoid retaliation, describe military patrols landing on the riverbank on March 3 and launching an "ambush" against four farmers.
“They tied my hands and feet and then hung me up. They put me in a bucket of water, as long as I could stand it… they kicked me, they hit me with the butt of a gun," one of the workers described.
Another said that the soldiers "were looking for someone we didn't know... they told us to hand things over, but we had nothing to hand over."
The soldiers then reportedly "doused the main house and the wooden kitchen with gasoline" and set it ablaze, leaving the flames to consume large amounts of farm equipment.
As residents attempted to advocate for their loved ones, the farm owner said, "The commander in charge wouldn't let us near; they greeted us with gunfire until they took them away."
The four captured farmers were reportedly transported by helicopter to the capital of Sucumbíos, Lago Agrio, where one of the young men described being taken to a tiny room and tortured.
“They shocked us with that thing they called a taser," he said. "They poured water on me and placed it on my ribs and asked us questions."
After finding no evidence of guilt, authorities released the four men near a hospital in the capital.
Three days later, planes and helicopters flew over San Martín, dropping bombs on the ruins of the same house that had already been burnt to the ground three days earlier and on another abandoned house.
Video of that bombing was shared on social media by the Ecuadorian Armed Forces.
“First they burned it on the 3rd, and then on the 6th they came to bomb it. That’s what they did," said the farm's owner.
“How can it be a training camp if this is a livestock area?" he asked. "There is nothing to justify it, there are no training grounds, there is nothing."
The Alliance for Human Rights Ecuador has called for an investigation into the military's alleged "bombings, burning of homes, arbitrary detentions, torture, and threats against the civilian population," which it said were "serious violations of international humanitarian law."
The fallout from the attack has spilled over to create an international incident with neighboring Colombia. Two weeks after the bombing of San Martín, an unexploded 500 lb. bomb was discovered on a farm on the other side of the San Miguel River in Colombia's Putumayo region.
The bomb was identified as a US-made Mark-82. According to the New York Times, "had the bomb exploded, it would have done so with the force of 192 pounds of TNT" and could have harmed people as far as over 1,900 feet away.
"We're being bombed by Ecuador," said Colombian President Gustavo Petro in response to the explosive's discovery. Noboa denied the accusation, saying that "we are acting in our territory, not yours."
Following the US military's January abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US Department of Justice accused of drug trafficking, leaks have suggested that the US may soon attempt to bring similar charges against Petro, another left-wing leader who has resisted cooperation with Trump. Petro has denied accusations of drug trafficking.
One unnamed official told Nick Turse of The Intercept that attacks along the Ecuador-Colombia border "increasingly look like a coordinated campaign to foment 'discord' if not conflict" in the country.
In his hearing before Congress, Humire said that the US military was providing Ecuador with “capabilities that they otherwise would not have."
Humire said he was not sure how many strikes have been conducted on land so far as part of Operation Total Extermination, but responded "yes" when asked by the committee's ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), if the Department of Defense would “be moving to a lot more terrestrial strikes."
He said that these attacks were "just the beginning" of a much broader campaign, adding that the US has entered into agreements with 17 partner nations in the Western Hemisphere as part of the so-called Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.
While Humire said the nations that have reached these agreements "want this support and most of them all are looking for this,” the same cannot necessarily be said for the people living in the crossfire of the operation.
Gomez said that the people of San Martín are still living with “psychological trauma” following the attack. According to the town's vice president, Vicente Garrid, families are living in constant fear that their homes could be targeted next.
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Trump to Send 3,000 More Troops to Mideast as Saudi Crown Prince Pushes Iran Ground Invasion
"Crown Prince MBS wants Trump to keep pouring Americans—and billions—into his illegal war with Iran," said one Democratic congressman.
Mar 24, 2026
The Pentagon is preparing to deploy around 3,000 troops to the Middle East as thousands of Marines also head to the region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, stoking fears of a possible ground invasion that is reportedly being pushed by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.
Two unidentified US officials told The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets Tuesday that soldiers from the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division quick reaction brigade—which can send troops almost anywhere in the world in under a day's time—would be ordered to deploy in the coming hours.
While the officials said that no decision has been made regarding a ground invasion of Iran, the deployment marks the latest escalation in the 24-day war—which President Donald Trump claimed was "very complete, pretty much" over two weeks ago.
The United States already has approximately 50,000 troops in the Middle East, where the US has attacked four countries—Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen—along with Libya and Somalia in Africa and Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia, since 2001.
The US deployments come as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—who is often called by his initials MBS—is reportedly pushing Trump to launch a ground invasion of Iran with the objective of toppling its current government, which, despite assassinations of numerous leaders, has so far demonstrated a resiliency experts say is rooted in its decentralized and highly flexible "horizontal" command structure.
According to The New York Times, the crown prince is arguing that the war on Iran offers a "historic opportunity" to reshape the Middle East. Saudi officials denied any such lobbying.
This, as Gulf monarchies are reportedly inching closer to getting directly involved in the war, as Iranian counterattacks target regional US allies including Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Previous reporting by The Washington Post and others detailed how, before the war, MBS and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allegedly pressed Trump to attack Iran for the second time in as many years.
Asked during a Tuesday White House press conference if MBS has "been encouraging you to do certain things related to Iran," the president replied: "He's a warrior. Yeah, he does. He's a warrior. He's fighting with us, by the way."
Reporter: There’s been reporting that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has been encouraging you to do certain things related to Iran.
Trump: He is a warrior, he is fighting with us pic.twitter.com/SA1wklQNJk
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 24, 2026
Lauren Harper, the Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said on Bluesky Tuesday that MBS' reported lobbying of Trump "is a great example of why a strong Presidential Records Act is essential for accountability."
Following Trump's deletion of social media posts—including a racist video amplifying lies about the 2020 election in which former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama are portrayed as apes—there have been renewed calls for robust enforcement of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which requires preservation of “the activities, deliberations, decisions, and policies that reflect the performance of the president’s constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties.”
"Want to read the notes or the telcons (telephone conversations) between Trump and MBS re: Iran? Then you need an enforceable PRA that doesn’t let Trump get away with not keeping or destroying records," Harper wrote.
US Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) said Tuesday on Bluesky: "I’ve listened to Trump’s calls with foreign leaders. The American people deserve to know exactly what he promised MBS—and at what cost to our troops and our values."
Crown Prince MBS wants Trump to keep pouring Americans—and billions—into his illegal war with Iran.This is the same MBS U.S. intelligence tied to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. And Trump’s response? “Things happen.”
— Congressman Eugene Vindman (VA-07) (@gene4va.bsky.social) March 24, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Some critics took aim at Trump's campaign promise of no new wars, part of his so-called "America First" agenda.
"The America First guy keeps getting headlines about the war with Iran being pursued to fulfill the aims of Netanyahu or MBS," said Chad Stanton, political director at the faith-based progressive advocacy group SojoAction.
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Ire Aimed at GOP as Outrageous Cost of Healthcare Infuriates—and Motivates—US Voters in 2026
A former Trump voter said that the cost of healthcare was driving her to support any party "that can help me afford to stay healthy."
Mar 24, 2026
While President Donald Trump's poll numbers have been sinking to second-term lows ever since his unconstitutional war on Iran sent gas prices soaring, pain at the pump isn't the only concern Americans face when it comes to affordability.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that voters' anxiety on the cost of healthcare is once again on the rise, with insurance premiums spiking dramatically for tens of millions of Americans after Trump and his Republican congressional allies failed to extend enhanced subsidies for plans purchased through exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Shawn Spencer, a 48-year-old Virginia resident, told the Times that while she voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, she'd be open to supporting any party "that can help me afford to stay healthy."
"Healthcare costs are out of control," emphasized Spencer. "I don’t have insurance, so I’m paying a boatload when I need care."
In addition to the increases to ACA premiums spurred by the lapsed subsidies, Republicans last year also slashed $1 trillion over the next decade from Medicaid as part of their One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The Times noted that those cuts aren't expected to kick in until after the 2026 midterm elections, but they have already resulted in healthcare layoffs and hospital closures throughout the country, as some facilities are projecting they will not be able to stay afloat with reduced Medicaid reimbursements.
The Times pointed specifically Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, where "a healthcare company has closed clinics and laid off 67 staff members at a hospital in Des Moines, blaming the federal cuts for a projected $1.5 billion in annual revenue reductions."
Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran minister and former hospital chaplain who is running in the district for the US House of Representatives against incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), has made the healthcare cuts central to her campaign message, mocking her rival for saying it's a "myth" that local hospital cuts are due to the GOP budget law.
Dr. Peter Reiter, who worked for decades at one of the shuttered clinics, was quoted in the Times blaming Nunn for its closure.
“Zach Nunn owns this,” Reiter said. “He needs to pay the price of accountability."
The Times report was flagged on Tuesday by Unrig Our Economy campaign director Leor Tal, who said it was yet more evidence that the GOP is out of touch with the needs of working-class Americans who are struggling to afford basic necessities.
"If Republicans spent half as much time focusing on lowering costs as they did giving handouts to billionaires, working Americans wouldn’t be so concerned about affording care," said Tal. "Congressional Republicans clearly aren’t prioritizing making life more affordable for their constituents. If they did, they wouldn’t have repeatedly voted to send their healthcare costs soaring and put millions at risk of losing insurance altogether."
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