Dear TP
:
Thank
you
for
writing
to
express
your
thoughts
on
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu's
speech
before
a
joint
session
of
Congress.
I
appreciate
the
time
you
took
to
write,
and
I
welcome
the
opportunity
to
respond.
On
March
2,
2015,
Israeli
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu
addressed
a
joint
session
of
Congress
to
discuss
U.S.-Israeli
relations
and
the
ongoing
P5+1
(a
group
of
countries
including
the
United
States,
the
United
Kingdom,
France,
Germany,
China,
and
Russia)
negotiations
with
Iran
regarding
Iran's
nuclear
program.
First,
please
know
that
though
I
attended
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu's
speech,
I
believe
the
decision
by
Speaker
Boehner
to
invite
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu
to
speak
before
Congress
without
consulting
the
administration
was
a
breach
of
protocol
and
an
unwelcome
injection
of
partisan
politics
into
our
nation's
foreign
policy
debate.
This
invitation
and
speech
also
put
the
United
States
in
the
middle
of
Israel's
March
2015
election,
which
I
believe
was
highly
inappropriate.
Second,
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu's
speech
powerfully
reinforced
the
close
U.S.-Israeli
relationship
and
reaffirmed
the
United
States'
continued
contribution
to
Israel's
security.
Prime
Minister
Netanyahu
also
made
clear
his
concerns
with
a
diplomatic
agreement
that
the
P5+1
are
attempting
to
conclude
with
Iran.
As
you
may
know,
since
January
2014,
Iran
and
the
P5+1
have
abided
by
an
interim
nuclear
agreement
known
as
the
Joint
Plan
of
Action,
which
has
frozen
and
reversed
in
some
respects
Iran's
nuclear
program
in
exchange
for
limited
sanctions
relief.
The
purpose
of
the
interim
agreement
was
to
facilitate
good
faith
negotiations
towards
a
final,
comprehensive
agreement
that
would
ensure
Iran's
nuclear
program
is
exclusively
peaceful.
According
to
the
International
Atomic
Energy
Agency,
Iran
has
closely
adhered
to
the
Joint
Plan
of
Action,
and
on
April
2,
2015,
Iran
and
the
P5+1
announced
a
framework
agreement
to
produce
a
final
deal
by
June
30,
2015.
With
international
sanctions
in
place
and
Iran's
nuclear
program
halted
as
a
result
of
the
Joint
Plan
of
Action,
I
have
strongly
supported
the
extension
of
talks
and
the
diplomatic
efforts
currently
underway
to
resolve
concerns
about
Iran's
nuclear
program.
I
believe
these
negotiations
represent
a
critical—and
possibly
the
only—opportunity
to
peacefully
curtail
Iran's
nuclear
program.
Consequently,
I
do
not
agree
with
an
effort
to
impose
additional
sanctions
against
Iran.
I
concur
with
the
judgment
of
the
Intelligence
Community
that
imposing
these
additional
sanctions
while
we
are
simultaneously
negotiating
with
Iran
would
undermine
the
prospect
of
a
diplomatic
resolution.
That
is
why
I
oppose
additional
sanctions
against
Iran
at
this
time.
Please
know
that
I
have
taken
careful
note
of
the
concerns
you
raised
in
your
letter,
and
I
appreciate
your
input
on
these
important
topics.
Again,
thank
you
for
your
letter.
I
hope
you
continue
to
keep
me
informed
on
matters
of
importance
to
you.
If
you
have
any
additional
questions
or
concerns,
do
not
hesitate
to
contact
my
Washington,
D.C.,
office
at
(202)
224-3841.
Best
regards.
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator