Seventy-two members of Congress signed a letter last week calling on the United Nations to remove Iran from serving as chair of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament, the Tower reported Wednesday.
The Washington Free Beacon broke the news earlier this month that Iran would preside over the arms control forum, which began Monday.
The forum has previously given way to major international treaties on nuclear non-proliferation, prohibitions on chemical weapons, and bans on nuclear tests.
According to the Tower:
The bipartisan letter – coauthored by Peter Roskam (R., Ill.), Ted Deutch (D., Fla.), Mike Kelly (R., Penn.), and Gary Peters (D., Mich.), and co-signed by the chair and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee – takes note of Iran’s "continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability" as one core reason why Tehran ought to be disqualified from presiding over a body dedicated to preventing the pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilities.
Iranian media outlets bragged about the appointment when it was announced two weeks ago, which came just after negotiators made zero progress in talks with Iran, and amid revelations that Iran is locking in advanced nuclear infrastructure.