1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

The United States is in no moral position to condemn Iran as if it stands outside the crisis it helped create. In 1953, the CIA helped overthrow Iran’s elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and restore the Shah. Since the 1979 revolution, sanctions have been a regular feature of U.S. policy toward Iran. In January 2016, the IAEA verified that Iran had implemented its key JCPOA nuclear commitments, and the United States lifted nuclear-related sanctions accordingly. Then in 2018, the U.S. abandoned the deal and reimposed those sanctions. Even now, the public record does not support the panic framing used to sell aggression. In March 2025, the U.S. intelligence community said Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Khamenei had not authorized the weapons program suspended in 2003. In May 2025, the IAEA said it had no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear programme, even while also criticizing Iran’s lack of satisfactory cooperation, undeclared nuclear material and activities at several sites, and its accumulation of 60% enriched uranium. A government that overthrows elected leaders, backs dictatorship, imposes decades of sanctions, and repeatedly threatens force does not get to pose as a neutral judge of the instability that follows. Congress should stop condemning Iran from the position of aggressor while pretending this history does not exist. That is not principle. It is domination dressed up as concern. Stop accepting false premises as excuses for more war. Reject further military action against Iran. Reject more sanctions and economic strangulation. Sever military and diplomatic support for Israel and any other state aiding, enabling, or advancing this war. Support diplomacy without threats, coercion, or regime-change logic. If Congress wants to speak credibly about peace, it must first stop acting like the United States is innocent of the crisis it helped produce.