Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Thursday blasted Iran’s move to build two new nuclear reactors, warning it increases the chances of an atomic showdown in the region.
“The longer we wait to stop the Iranians from creating a nuclear bomb, the more likely it becomes that our children will witness nuclear war in the Middle East,” Kirk said in a statement.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reportedly made the announcement about the reactors earlier this week. The project could complicate negotiations between Western powers and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Those talks have twice failed to meet self-imposed deadlines on a comprehensive deal, under which the U.S. would roll back economic sanctions in exchange for a dismantling of the Iranian weapons program.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Jawad Zarif, met for several hours in Geneva on Wednesday to begin the latest attempt at a bargain.
The U.S. and Iran are slated to hold more bilateral talks this week before envoys from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany join the discussions later this month.
Members of GOP-controlled Senate have threatened to approve new sanctions on Iran in the coming weeks, despite administration warnings that a vote could blow up the diplomatic talks.