On February 4, 2015, the OU Board of Directors passed the following policy resolution on the Iranian threat:
The Orthodox Union is gravely concerned about the Iranian regime’s potential development of a nuclear weapons capability. With such a capability, Iran would not only threaten the very existence of Israel, as well as the safety and security of the United States and its Western allies, but would also spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could endanger the region and the entire world.
The Iranian leadership’s animosity toward Israel and Western nations is not in question. The leadership regularly calls for the destruction of Israel and aggressively pursues nuclear weapons technology in violation of many UN Security Council resolutions (while at the same time denying that very pursuit).
The Orthodox Union applauds the stringent sanctions imposed on the Iranian regime by the U.S. Congress and Administration in order to halt and reverse Iran’s advancement toward nuclear weapons capability. The pressure of these sanctions brought Iranian leaders to the negotiations table in order to seek relief from those sanctions.
The United States, together with the other nations that are part of the “P5+1” group, entered into negotiations with the Iranian regime to find a diplomatic solution and identify a deal that truly dismantles and reverses Iran’s nuclear weapons capability. The group issued an extension to the negotiations when it did not reach a deal by the November 24, 2014 deadline.
Therefore, we resolve:
The Orthodox Union believes that the focus of American and international policymakers as well as advocates must remain clearly on the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability. Thus, any agreement to be concluded and approved must be a deal which achieves that goal, and “no deal is better than a bad deal” which falls short of that goal.
The Orthodox Union believes the parameters and content of an acceptable agreement are those set forth in a letter from U.S. Senators to President Obama dated March 18, 2014. These include the necessity for a robust and intrusive compliance inspection regime.
The Orthodox Union shall support Congressional legislation that would address Iranian compliance violations and impose additional sanctions in the event that the six-month extension fails to reverse Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon.
The Orthodox Union will continue to work with Congress and the White House to ensure that Iran’s efforts to achieve a nuclear weapons capability are halted and disbanded.
Click here to read the entire set of resolutions passed at the Orthodox Union’s 116th Anniversary Convention, including a summary of the OU’s standing policy resolutions.