The Sconi

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has joined Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and 48 other senators in sending a letter to French, German, and British foreign ministers expressing support for the decision to reimpose snapback sanctions on Iran. The letter thanks Jean-Noël Barrot, Johann Wadephul, and Yvette Cooper for their roles in initiating these measures and urges continued pressure until Iran permanently dismantles its nuclear program.

The lawmakers stated, “While we back diplomatic efforts to restore Iran’s compliance with its International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) commitments, the international community should not allow hollow gestures and cynical threats from Tehran to stop the snapback process. The regime has abused diplomatic processes for years to avoid penalties. Sanctions relief should only be negotiated after snapback is fully implemented. The regime must fully and verifiably dismantle its nuclear program, restore full IAEA access, terminate its support for international terror proxies, and end its ballistic missile program – at a minimum.”

They also called for coordinated actions to prevent Iranian proliferation: “In light of the soon-returning international sanctions, we need joint interdiction efforts to prevent Iranian proliferation and acquisition of military, missile, and nuclear goods, technologies, and components. In line with returning UN obligations, we hope you will help us fully shutter Iran’s banking sector abroad, including by closing all branches in Europe,” the letter continued.

The letter concluded with a call for more pressure on Iran: “More pressure is necessary to ultimately bring Iran back to meaningful and serious diplomatic engagement on the full spectrum of its malign activities.”

Senator Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate after defeating Russ Feingold in 2010 with 51.9% of the vote compared to Feingold's 47%. He was reelected in 2016 against Feingold again with 50.2% of the vote versus Feingold's 46.8%, and won his third term in 2022 by defeating Mandela Barnes with 50.4% of the vote over Barnes' 49.4%.

The full text of the letter is available online.