Rep. Gabbard: ‘Trump Seems Determined to Go to War With Iran’

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawai‘i-02) issued a statement in response to an announcement by Secretary of State Pompeo yesterday that the U.S. would no longer issue sanctions waivers to countries purchasing Iranian oil.

This action will negatively impact our allies like India, Japan and South Korea and undermine efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, said a April 23, 2019, press release from Rep. Gabbard’s office.

Just last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director-general confirmed that Iran continues to comply with its nuclear commitments agreed to in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal.

“President Trump seems determined to go to war with Iran, even after he campaigned on the platform of ending regime change wars. Trump’s move yesterday to deny sanctions waivers to countries purchasing Iranian oil drives us closer to war with Iran, increasing tensions in the region, and putting the U.S. at odds with many of our allies. His actions make our country less safe, damaging our non-proliferation efforts and negotiations to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula,” said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. “The Trump Administration continues to do the bidding of Saudi Arabia without regard for our own national security and economic interests. It is in our national security interest to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement, and in that regard, lift the sanctions that are hurting the Iranian people. Whatever concerns we may have apart from Iran’s nuclear program can be dealt with in separate agreements.”

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has consistently urged President Trump and Congress to uphold the nation’s commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). The congresswoman spoke on the House floor and published an op/ed in The Hill urging President Trump against withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. She has acknowledged that the Iran Nuclear Deal is imperfect; however, she emphasized that the agreement was better than the alternative— war. She opposed legislative language in the FY2019 NDAA to authorize Administration efforts to drive the U.S. to war with Iran and protect Congress’s constitutional power to declare war.