WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, authored an op-ed in TIME to explain the urgency of the U.S. getting back into a nuclear agreement with Iran. Murphy also laid out the consequences of President Trump’s failed Iran policy after pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On former President Trump’s decision to leave the JCPOA, Murphy wrote: “Trump’s closest national security advisors begged him not to tear up the deal. They told him the deal was working. Iran had lived up to its promises, shut down major parts of its nuclear program, and allowed the inspectors in … But Trump didn’t listen. He scrapped the deal and reimposed sanctions.”

Murphy continued: “As Trump’s term dragged on, Iran’s nuclear research program grew, their attacks on U.S. forces continued, and their destabilizing activity in the Middle East increased. Trump’s Iran policy proved to be a complete, unconditional fiasco.”

“Another month or year with Trump’s Iran policy still in place is madness. If Iran chose to seek a nuclear weapon today, they likely only need sixty days to develop the fuel do so. That is a scary reality for our friends in the Middle East, especially Israel. And every day Iran remains this close to becoming a nuclear weapons capable nation, their regional rivals, like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, consider becoming nuclear weapons powers too,” Murphy wrote.

On the Biden administration’s efforts to craft a new deal to prevent a nuclear Iran, Murphy added: “So now is the time for Biden’s negotiating team to make the smart but necessary concessions to restart some version of Obama’s nuclear deal. Yes, Iran is going to have to make equal compromises, but the clock is ticking, and a new deal needs to happen soon. This new deal may not look the same as Obama’s deal due to all the ground we lost during Trump’s presidency. But an agreement by Iran to significantly expand its breakout time and allow all the inspections to resume would make the world a safer place.”

You can read the full op-ed here.

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