Dozens of NGOs call on Biden to reject US diplomat’s anti-Iran remarks

In a letter, the organizations called on Biden to “clarify that these comments do not reflect US policy towards Iran for the sake of regional stability, future diplomacy, and respect for Congress’ constitutional responsibility for war powers.”

The NGOs expressed concern that the Israeli far-right cabinet would “perceive these remarks as tacit approval for military action, even when such action most likely will damage US national security interests, further embroil our military in regional conflict, and prevent future diplomacy.”

The warning comes as the US envoy had recently stated “Israel can and should do whatever they need to deal with [Iran] and we’ve got their back.”

The Israeli regime has on numerous occasions threatened to carry out attacks against Iranian facilities and infrastructure, claiming that Iran was close to building nuclear weapons.

The NGOs further asked Biden to express “opposition to the military option known, publicly and privately,” warning that aggression by Israel would lead to a broader regional war.

“Publicly or even privately offering unconditional US support for unspecified military action by Israel, or any ally, sets an extremely dangerous precedent and risks further escalation,” they wrote.

“Ambassador Nides’ loose talk raises concerns that the administration may again ignore Congress’ constitutional role, and the public’s clear preference, by rushing into a conflict over which the people and their representatives have no say,” they added.

They also said that it is “confounding that Nides implied that Israel’s unilateral decision-making would bind US foreign policy. The United States should never outsource its foreign policy to other states – to do so would be highly irresponsible and an abdication of the government’s responsibility to protect the American people.”

Meanwhile, there are reports that the Biden administration has drawn closer to Israel in recent weeks, conducting large-scale joint military exercises with the regime.

Israel, which possesses nuclear weapons and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has made various covert attempts in recent years to sabotage Iran’s peaceful nuclear program by assassinating Iranian scientists and carrying out cowardly attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

This is while Iran showed to the world the peaceful nature of its nuclear program by signing the JCPOA in 2015 with six world powers — the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China. Iran fully observed its nuclear obligations under the JCPOA until 2019, a year after the US, under Israel’s influence, withdrew from the accord and targeted Iran with a “maximum pressure” campaign.

Iran is also a signatory to the NPT and has banned the production, possession, and use of nuclear weapons per a fatwa (religious decree) by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.