WASHINGTON – Five Southeast Pennsylvania Republicans urged President Obama Monday to press for a deal that that prevents Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons, rather than just stalling Tehran's progress, in a joint letter on the ongoing negotiations.
"The objective of any agreement should be to prevent – not delay – an nuclear Iran," said the letter from U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent (of Lehigh County), Mike Fitzpatrick (of Bucks County), Jim Gerlach (of Chester County) and Pat Meehan (of Delaware County). They were joined by Congressman-elect Ryan Costello, a Chester County commissioner who won the race to replace Gerlach, who is retiring.
For Costello, who until this point in his public career has dealt with local issues, the letter would appear to be his first major statement on foreign affairs since winning election Nov. 4.
The joint letter on foreign policy comes as the U.S. and Iran approach a Nov. 24 deadline for reaching a deal on Iran's nuclear program. Talks are ongoing as members of Congress are push for a firm deal. Iran has pressed for the ability to use nuclear power for energy -- though many lawmakers skeptical that the country would stop there. Supporters of the talks argue that negotiations are the only way to stop Iran's march to nuclear weaponry without another armed conflict.
"The Obama administration should not accept any agreement that allows Iran to enrich uranium or plutonium, and Congress should have a say in any prospective deal," the local Congressmen wrote.
They called a nuclear Iran "a grave threat to American national security and an existential threat to Israel" and warned that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons it "would set off an atomic arms race in the Middle East and further destabilize an already-dangerous region."
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