Reports surfaced earlier this week hinting that the Obama Administration is considering easing financial restrictions that prohibit U.S. dollars from being used in transactions with Iran.

When the Obama Administration negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the President and Secretary of State John Kerry essentially gave the Iranians everything on their wish list. One of the only points that the Administration claimed to hold steady on was preventing Iran from gaining access to the U.S. financial system.

It is easy to see why allowing Iranian access to our financial system is a terrible idea.

Iran’s inability to trade in U.S. dollars prevents the regime in Tehran from fully opening its economy and protects the U.S. financial system from being used to launder terrorist funds. These two principles are the reason we had sanctions in place long before the JCPOA was ever signed. Those sanctions must remain in place.

Iran’s recent aggressions—such as testing ballistic missiles with “death to Israel” inscribed on them—are reminders of how much the Administration gave up when it signed the JCPOA and how Congress must exercise stringent oversight through this implementation process.  

And while some Administration officials were back-peddling on this idea during hearings on Capitol Hill this week, we cannot forget that the Obama Administration has a history of telling Congress one thing, and doing the exact opposite.

Congress is committed to restricting Iranian access to the dollar and will strenuously work to ensure the Obama Administration does not make a terrible deal worse.