President Biden is coming under pressure from all sides as he seeks to navigate the latest violence between Israel and the Palestinians, a perennial political …
President Biden is coming under pressure from all sides as he seeks to navigate the latest violence between Israel and the Palestinians, a perennial political problem for U.S. presidents. Biden is facing attacks from Republicans for not doing enough to support Israel, and from progressives who say he needs to get much tougher with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president has put negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians on the back burner of his foreign policy, in a break from past administrations. Instead, he’s put enormous effort into bringing the U.S. and Iran back to the nuclear deal that former President Trump withdrew from in 2018. Republicans oppose any rapprochement with Iran and the latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization backed by Iran, is further fueling their criticisms. In a letter sent to Biden on Wednesday,44 Republicans implored the administration to abandon plans lifting sanctions on Iran as part of efforts to return to the deal. They argue cash flowing to Tehran finances rockets being fired into Israel. “In light of these recent attacks by Hamas against Israel, the United States should take all steps necessary to hold Tehran accountable and under no circumstances, provide sanctions relief to Iran,” they wrote. “We call on you to immediately end negotiations with Iran, and make clear that sanctions relief will not be provided. Doing so would demonstrate a firm commitment to our closest ally in the region and to our own security interests.” The administration argues that lifting sanctions as part of efforts to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the name for the nuclear deal, are separate from sanctions the U.S. has on Iran related to its terrorism activities, like supporting Hamas. “If we were to remove sanctions that were inconsistent with the JCPOA, we would still vigorously hold to account Iran for its behavior in other areas – its terrorism, its support for proxies, its human rights abuses,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a briefing with reporters Wednesday.
