

“The most important and effective support for your efforts will come from those who have worked in support of U.S.-Iran diplomacy for years, not from those who have opposed it and been so consistently and disastrously wrong about the key foreign policy questions of the 21st century.” public that overwhelmingly supports diplomacy,” the letter states. So did Responsible Statecraft’s parent organization, the Quincy Institute. The Ploughshares Fund, a foundation focused on nuclear non-proliferation, left leaning pro-Israel group J Street, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker lobby group, also signed the letter. The letter’s signatories include the activist organization Demand Progress, the Bernie Sanders-aligned group Justice Democrats, the longtime progressive activist group MoveOn, the left-leaning veterans’ group VoteVets, and the foreign policy think tank Win Without War. foreign policy away from the reckless, belligerent unilateralism of Donald Trump.” It argues that the JCPOA was one of Biden’s “most important and unequivocal promises during the campaign, one shared with every other major Democratic primary candidate, and one that was an important sign that you were prepared to move U.S. The Wednesday letter by progressives represents an attempt to push back, arguing that hawks ”oppose the very idea of diplomacy let alone any deal with Iran, regardless of the details.” Republicans have been pressuring the Biden administration to take a harder line by refusing to lift the embargo on the Iranian economy until Iran agrees to broad concessions on its conventional missile arsenal and regional military policies.īiden also fears the wrath of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D–N.J.) and other hawkish Democrats - who have previously aligned with Republicans on the Iranian issue - Politico reported on Monday. Biden had promised to return to the JCPOA and begin broader U.S.-Iranian talks, but the two countries are stuck in a standoff as both sides insist that the other move first.

The two letters are a sign that the Biden administration is facing increasing pressure to extend an olive branch to Iran and break a diplomatic deadlock. Meanwhile, late last month, 27 Catholic groups led by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns had published their own open letter asking the president to “offer sanction relief as an initial show of good faith to bring Iran back to the table.” On Wednesday, more than 30 progressive groups released a letter urging Biden to “follow through quickly” on rejoining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, either by taking the first step or by agreeing to move simultaneously with Iran. 5 Simple Things That Could Stop Coronavirus Spikes, According to Dr.Progressive and Catholic groups are urging President Joe Biden to break the diplomatic gridlock with Iran and move to rapidly rejoin the 2015 international nuclear deal.How Biden’s COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Could Help Get Us Out of the Pandemic.Where Kamala Harris Stands on 5 Crucial Health Issues.Its sweeping strategy includes a number of executive orders, memos, and directives to “take initial steps to address these crises, including by changing the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing economic relief, tackling climate change, and advancing racial equity." As SELF reported previously, the Biden-Harris administration's plans to tackle the virus include seriously ramping up funding for testing and vaccination, among other things. This move is just one of Biden's many announced policy changes that scientists and public health experts applauded. is the largest funder of the WHO (another of Trump's complaints). In the meantime, the commitment to supporting the WHO is important in restoring America's role as a public health leader and helping to fight the pandemic on a global scale, especially given the fact that the U.S. “Once the United States resumes its engagement with the WHO, the Biden-Harris Administration will work with the WHO and our partners to strengthen and reform the organization, support the COVID-19 health and humanitarian response, and advance global health and health security,” according to the statement. And President Biden intends to improve some of the issues with the organization. But some experts have criticized some aspects of the WHO's approach to the pandemic, such as the organization's delay in recognizing the significance of airborne coronavirus transmission, as the New York Times reported.
