,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ccad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ac1 #bjbj,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to seek a diplomatic resolution to ,iran's nuclear program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,iran ,diplomacy ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,joint ,comprehensive ,plan of ,action 7,,jcpoa7 was agreed to on ,july #ad1 #bjae1 by ,china1 ,france1 ,germany1 ,russia1 the ,united ,kingdom1 the ,united ,states1 the ,european ,union1 and ,iran4 7#b7 ,when it was fully implemented by all parties1 the ,,jcpoa had increased the amount of time it would take ,iran to acquire enough fissile material for one nuclear weapon1 provided a political decision to do so1 from approximately two to three months to at least one year4 7#c7 ,the ,,jcpoa blocked ,iran's uranium1 plutonium1 and covert pathways to a nuclear weapon1 in the period when all sides had fully implemented their commitments1 in part by-- 7,a7 imposing verifiable limits on ,iran's uranium enrichment and plutonium production capabilities2 7,b7 reducing the number of ,iran's installed centrifuges by two-thirds2 and 7,c7 permitting the ,international ,atomic ,energy ,agency 7,,iaea7 to monitor and verify of all stages of ,iran's nuclear fuel cycle to include requesting short-notice access to verify the non-diversion of declared material and absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in ,iran1 consistent with its provisional implementation of the ,additional ,protocol to its ,,iaea ,comprehensive ,safeguards ,agreement4 7#d7 ,the #bjah ,department of ,state ,compliance ,report concluded1 ,tehran's adherence to these commitments will hinder its ability to produce a nuclear weapon even after the time-bound provisions of the deal expire1 helping to ensure that its nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful in nature4 7#e7 ,on ,january #bi1 #bjai1 ,director of the ,central ,intelligence ,agency 7,,cia7 ,gina ,haspel1 testified before the ,select ,committee on ,intelligence of the ,senate that at the moment1 technically they ,iran are in compliance1 with the ,,jcpoa4 7#f7 ,on ,january #bi1 #bjai1 a worldwide threat assessment issued by ,director of ,national ,intelligence ,dan ,coats1 observed that the ,united ,states does not believe that ,iran is currently undertaking the key activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device and ,iran's continued implementation of the ,,jcpoa has extended the amount of time ,iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon from a few months to about one year4 7#g7 ,on ,may #h1 #bjah1 ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump announced the unilateral abrogation of the ,united ,states from the ,,jcpoa1 and announced that the ,united ,states would re-impose all ,united ,states sanctions that had been lifted after ,iran verifiably met its nuclear-related commitments under the agreement on the agreement's implementation day of ,january #af1 #bjaf4 7#h7 ,whereas the ,united ,states move to abrogate the ,,jcpoa is a violation of its commitments under the agreement and is inconsistent with the ,united ,states reputation of honoring agreements to which it is a party1 making the future conclusion of such agreements more difficult4 7#i7 ,prior to ,iran's first breach of the ,,jcpoa on ,may #h1 #bjai1 quarterly reports from the ,,iaea ,board of ,governors ,reports found that since implementation day1 on ,january #af1 #bjaf1 ,iran's nuclear program was consistent with the restrictions under the ,,jcpoa4 7#aj7 ,following the removal of nearly all remaining waivers to ,united ,states nuclear-related sanctions on ,may #b1 #bjai1 the ,government of ,iran has committed a series of reversible but concerning breaches of the ,,jcpoa1 including by exceeding3 the allowable stock of low-enriched uranium and heavy water2 the number of installed centrifuges at its pilot enrichment facility2 and the permitted ,low ,enriched ,uranium 7,,leu7 enrichment level of #c4fg percent of the ,uranium ,u-#bce isotope4 7#aa7 ,since the full re-imposition of ,united ,states nuclear-related sanctions1 the ,government of ,iran has also engaged in a series of escalatory actions outside its nuclear program that have put the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces1 diplomats1 and strategic partners at risk and have heightened the threat of an armed conflict with ,iran1 including the following events3 7,a7 ,may #ab-ac1 #bjai1 the ,department of ,defense faulted ,iran for an attack on four oil tankers belonging to ,saudi ,arabia1 the ,united ,arab ,emirates1 and ,norway4 7,b7 ,on ,june #ac1 #bjai1 ,secretary ,mike ,pompeo stated that it was the ,united ,states assessment that ,iran was responsible for the attack on two ,saudi oil tankers4 7,c7 ,on ,june #bj1 #bjai1 the ,government of ,iran shot down a ,united ,states ,unmanned ,aerial ,vehicle 7,,uav74 ,reportedly1 ,president ,trump authorized retaliatory strikes against targets in ,iran before rescinding the order for fear that the ,iranian loss of life in such a strike would be disproportionate4 7,d7 ,on ,july #bd1 #bjai1 the ,government of ,iran announced the seizure of a ,british-flagged tanker in the ,strait of ,hormuz4 7,e7 ,on ,september #ad1 #bjai1 the ,united ,states ,government concluded that the ,government of ,iran was responsible for ,,uav and cruise missile strikes at ,saudi ,arabia's energy infrastructure at ,khurais and ,abqaiq1 which caused significant damage to ,saudi ,arabia's oil energy production4 7,f7 ,on ,november #ai1 #bjai1 the ,government of ,israel concluded that ,iranian forces in ,syria fired four rockets intended for the ,golan ,heights4 7#ab7 ,following the unauthorized ,united ,states strike resulting in the death of ,general ,qassem ,soleimani on ,january #c1 #bjbj1 ,iran announced as was anticipated that it would no longer be bound by the limits of the ,,jcpoa1 while also noting that it would remain as a party to the ,treaty on the ,non-,proliferation of ,nuclear ,weapons1 done at ,washington1 ,london1 and ,moscow ,july #a1 #aifh 7,,npt71 and would fully cooperate with ,,iaea monitoring and verification activities4 7#ac7 ,iran has made no meaningful progress on the #ab conditions ,secretary of ,state ,pompeo outlined as preconditions for the ,united ,states to enter into an agreement with ,iran1 clearly demonstrating that the administration's policy of maximum pressure has not favorably changed ,iran's behavior4 ,further1 ,department of ,defense officials have been warning for more than a year that the ,trump ,administration's 8maximum pressure0 campaign raised the risk of retaliation against ,united ,states troops and diplomatic personnel4 7#ad7 ,on ,january #ad1 #bjbj1 the foreign ministers of ,france1 ,germany1 and the ,united ,kingdom issued a joint statement that refers the issue of ,iran's non-compliance to the ,dispute ,resolution ,mechanism of the ,joint ,commission1 while noting both their determination to work with all participants to preserve 7the agreement7 and and that they remain convinced that this landmark multilateral international agreement and its nonproliferation benefits enhance our shared security interests and strengthen the rules-based international order4 7#ae7 ,on ,february #ac1 #bjbj1 a bipartisan majority in the ,united ,states ,senate directed the ,president to remove ,united ,states ,armed ,forces from hostilities against ,iran or any part of its government or military1 unless otherwise explicitly authorized by ,congress4 ,this direction1 which followed passage of a similar measure in the ,house of ,representatives on ,january #i1 #bjbj1 provides an opportunity for de-escalation of tensions and renewed diplomatic engagement between the ,united ,states and ,iran4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states as follows3 7#a7 ,achieving a diplomatic resolution to ,iran's nuclear program1 one that the ,united ,states had in place prior to ,president ,trump's unilateral abrogation from the ,,jcpoa1 would represent a meaningful step to preventing a future armed conflict between the ,united ,states and ,iran1 one which would result in the untold loss of life and treasure4 7#b7 ,while the ,united ,states no longer has standing in the ,joint ,commission or the ,dispute ,resolution mechanism triggered by ,france1 ,germany1 and the ,united ,kingdom on ,january #ad1 #bjbj1 it should support good-faith efforts to achieve one or both of the following3 7,a7 ,returning all sides to not less than full compliance with its commitments under the ,,jcpoa and refraining from imposing or threatening to impose economic penalties on ,france1 ,germany1 or the ,united ,kingdom4 7,b7 ,negotiating an interim agreement that provides ,iran with tailored1 temporary economic relief in exchange for verifiable measures by ,iran that reverses steps taken since ,may #bjai with respect to its nuclear program4 7#c7 ,provided that all sides verifiably return to compliance with no less than its commitments under the ,,jcpoa1 or to build upon the progress of an interim agreement described in paragraph 7#b77;,b71 the ,united ,states and the other ,p#ea parties should seek out negotiations with ,iran1 prior to #bjbc1 towards a new comprehensive agreement that closes off all ,iranian paths to a nuclear weapon by-- 7,a7 addressing the sunset of certain provisions of the ,,jcpoa in #bjbf2 and 7,b7 advancing any other measures that advance ,united ,states and international security4 7#d7 ,parallel to one or more of the actions described in paragraph 7#b71 the ,united ,states and its international partners should seek to address other aspects of ,iran's destabilizing actions in the region and work to bring ,iran back to compliance with its human rights obligations4 7#e7 ,no ,,jcpoa ,participating ,state should issue a claim of significant nonperformance by ,iran to the ,united ,nations ,security ,council outside of the ,dispute ,resolution mechanism detailed in paragraphs #cf and #cg of the ,,jcpoa4 7#f7 ,the ,united ,states should1 consistent with its ,,jcpoa commitments1 issue waivers for cooperative projects specified in the ,,jcpoa1 all of which make it more difficult for ,iran to reconstitute activities that pose a proliferation risk1 thereby advancing ,united ,states and international security4 7#g7 ,the ,united ,states should create an environment in which financial institutions and entities can make practical use of existing exemptions and mechanisms allowing for the sale of agricultural commodities1 food1 medicine1 and medical devices to ,iran1 as well as other humanitarian trade4