WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Monday released the following statement:

“It’s insane that Senate Republicans are urging President Biden to walk away from an agreement to rejoin the JCPOA. Their alternative – maintaining the maximum pressure strategy – has already proven a failure. A ‘no deal’ outcome leaves Iran on the doorstep of developing a nuclear weapon and sets off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which would be a disaster for the world. It remains vital to U.S. national security that we secure a new agreement, and a good deal is still possible. I support the administration’s continued efforts to find a way forward despite recent Russian intransigence in the negotiations,” said Murphy.

Earlier this month, Murphy pushed back against critics of a nuclear agreement with Iran at a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Last month, Murphy authored an op-ed in TIME to explain the urgency of the U.S. getting back into a nuclear agreement with Iran.

###