Promoting diplomacy with Iran in LA

The Los Angeles Times published my letter to the editor on Friday urging our California senators to be leaders on promoting diplomacy with Iran:

Doyle McManus is right that we should be willing to take “yes” for an answer when it comes to negotiating with Iran.

Members of Congress such as Sens. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) who advocate more sanctions must face the real choice they are foisting on the American public: If they push through unnecessary, punitive policies that could torpedo talks with Iran, they are saying yes to another military intervention.

With Iran at the negotiating table, offering new tone and substance, there is no good reason to pass additional sanctions. Still, hawks in the Senate might try to attach the new sanctions to a bill coming to the floor this month.

California’s Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein must step up and push the leadership to block this vote and make sure we don’t squander the best opportunity we’ve had in years for a peaceful solution.

This followed two local lobbying meetings in LA on Thursday. We joined partners from Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Physicians for Social Responsibility-LA, National Iranian American Council and Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace to meet with staff for Sens. Boxer and Feinstein to urge them to work to block additional sanctions in the Senate and speak out for diplomacy with Iran. You can see a photo of some of our astute delegation in Sen. Feinstein’s LA office below: