More than 100 Republican members of the US Congress have written to President Joe Biden urging him to end nuclear talks with Iran and enforce sanctions.

The signatories have pointed out that Administration officials say the talks are not progressing and Biden should stop the attempt to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, and instead strongly enforce existing sanctions, “particularly with respect to the oil trade between Iran and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).”

Chinese illicit imports of Iranian oil in contravention of US sanctions at least doubled in 2021, as Iran’s daily exports now stand at around 600,000 barrels.

The lawmakers also highlighted Iran’s advancement in enriching uranium at 60 percent, which started one year ago as the Biden Administration was preparing to enter talks with Tehran. Calling Iran’s actions and delaying tactics “provocations” the letter says this behavior is “the epitome of bad faith,” and calls for a strong enforcement of existing sanctions.

“If Iran is not prepared to negotiate as things stand, we need to build our leverage to compel them to negotiate a better, stricter deal with no sunsets,” the lawmakers say.

As Republicans criticize the Administration’s policy toward Iran, the White House is trying to blame former president Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, as the reason for the current situation.