President Obama addressing the nation about the Iran nuclear deal. Photo: White House.

Ambassador Mark Wallace, CEO of advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), called on the White House to end its “continued characterization of those who support new Iran sanctions as dishonest warmongers.”

In a statement, Wallace said, “It is wrong for the White House to continue questioning the integrity and motives of anyone who supports more sanctions on Iran. It is nonsensical and out of bounds to say that a bipartisan majority of U.S. Senators secretly wants war with Iran.”

“Sanctions are a non-violent policy tool used to avoid war. It was, after all, President [Barack] Obama himself who, in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, described sanctions as ‘alternatives to violence’ that must be ‘tough enough to actually change behavior.'”

The disagreement in Washington comes as a date was finally set – January 20 – for the treaty reached between Iran and world powers in November to take effect.

Despite the diplomatic advances made with securing the treaty, many U.S. political leaders continue to object to the emerging detente with Iran, as the Islamic state’s nuclear enrichment program remains active.

“Given that Iran has not stopped its industrial-scale nuclear enrichment activities, current sanctions have obviously NOT been ‘tough enough to actually change behavior,'” Wallace said. “It is therefore more than reasonable for one to posit that further sanctions–with delayed implementation, humanitarian carve-outs, reversibility, and broad discretionary and waiver authority for the President by the way–are in order, and it is certainly not a scheme to start a war.”

“This is not a political campaign, but a serious foreign policy matter that will affect U.S. and international security for decades. The White House should stop impugning the character of those it disagrees with, and instead address the serious threat posed by Iran’s ongoing nuclear program,” he said.