Warren And Sanders Among 2020 Democratic Candidates Who Would Rejoin Iran Deal

Bernie Sanders protesting the furlough of federal workers, October 2013 Image by Getty Images

By Ron Kampeas March 21, 2019

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Five Democratic presidential candidates said they would reenter the Iran nuclear deal that President Donald Trump abandoned last year.

Al-Monitor, a Middle East news site, solicited the Democratic candidates about whether they would rejoin the deal. The five who said they would are Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, D-Calif; Wayne Messam, a south Florida mayor; and Marianne Williamson, a New Age writer. Sanders and Williamson are Jewish.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. said it was too early to say, and another ten candidates did not reply. Al-Monitor noted that former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce his candidacy soon, sharply criticized Trump last year when he withdrew from the deal.

The deal, forged in 2015 between Iran and five major powers, is still in effect, as the other parties — Russia, China, Britain and German — have resisted Trump administration to also pull out of the deal, which trades sanctions relief for Iran’s rollback of its nuclear program. The Trump administration has reimposed sanctions on entities dealing with Iran.

Trump, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the deal did not adequately address the dangers Iran posed to the region.

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