1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to prevent further military escalation with Iran and to support the diplomatic efforts that were abandoned when President Trump ordered strikes against Iran on Saturday. Just hours before those strikes, Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi appeared on CBS's Face the Nation to announce that a peace deal between the US and Iran was within reach. This public disclosure was unprecedented for the famously cautious Omanis, who have successfully mediated sensitive negotiations in the past. According to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, this unusual public statement was intended to inform Americans that peace was achievable before the administration chose war instead. The proposed deal included significant concessions from Iran that addressed the core security concerns Trump cited to justify the strikes. Iran committed to zero accumulation and zero stockpiling of nuclear material capable of creating a bomb, with full verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Foreign Minister Albusaidi emphasized this was something completely new, not included in the 2015 nuclear accord. Additional talks were scheduled for the following week before the attacks derailed negotiations. Only 21 percent of Americans support the United States initiating an attack on Iran under current circumstances, according to recent polling. The strikes conducted jointly with Israel represent a dangerous escalation that bypassed a diplomatic solution that was, by Oman's assessment, within our grasp. I urge you to publicly oppose further military action against Iran, demand that Congress exercise its constitutional authority over matters of war, and support the resumption of the diplomatic negotiations that were progressing toward a verifiable agreement. The American people deserve representatives who will choose peace when it is achievable rather than war when it is avoidable.