Top Republican decries Trump’s Iran deal: ‘Reagan is rolling over in his grave’ | Republicans
A handful of Senate Republicans harshly criticized Donald Trump’s deal with Iran, accusing the administration of making the “worst foreign policy mistake in decades.”
On Wednesday, the Trump administration released the text of an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran to end the 110-day conflict, framing it as a “major win” for the United States — even as the 14-point agreement made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression.”
“Reagan is turning in his grave,” Republican senator Bill Cassidy said in a statement published on X.
“Iran’s nuclear ambitions have not been restrained, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly strengthen it in the future,” the outgoing Louisiana senator said. wrote. “From now on, Iran will build a brand new infrastructure within the scope of this agreement.”
Senior administration officials said the agreement would help prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, pointing to concessions in the Memorandum of Understanding that stipulated Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile would be “destroyed” through “down-blending.” But critics argue the deal has yielded less results than the deal Barack Obama negotiated with Iran in 2015.
“Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was suffering under sanctions, and 13 soldiers were still alive,” Cassidy said. “Now 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions of dollars to the pump, sanctions will be lifted and the bombings will stop. This is the worst foreign policy mistake in decades.”
Cassidy lost his primary last month when voters in Louisiana opted to send his two rivals to a runoff following Trump’s extraordinary intervention to oust the incumbent. Trump has been publicly feuding with Cassidy for years after the Republican senator voted in favor of impeaching Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Ahead of the Louisiana Senate primary, Trump repeatedly belittled Cassidy on social media, calling her a “disloyal disaster.”
Republican senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s most important allies in Congress, in question Immediately after the agreement was announced, he was “somewhat concerned that Iran’s view of the agreement differed from what the American negotiating team claimed.”
On Wednesday, Graham appeared to take a less skeptical view of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) after a “very long and productive” meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Graham said, “After this discussion, I believe that signing the Memorandum of Understanding will be beneficial to the United States in terms of starting to open the Strait of Hormuz and ending hostilities with Iran.” wrote on social media.
“Whether the United States can reach an acceptable, verifiable agreement with Iran regarding its nuclear program and other issues remains to be determined, but I don’t think there is much downside to trying.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, who took a complex but clearly supportive stance on the war. replied He joined the post by thanking Graham for his statement.
Republican senator Thom Tillis in question It was “concerning” that the Trump administration was considering allocating $300 billion in funding to Iran as part of the deal.
“I’m hearing a $300 billion number and that worries me, so I just need the details,” Tillis told MS Now reporters on Wednesday. “I also need to know the methodology. I’m not interested in a deal that will only last us two and a half years, so this administration will last longer.”
The MoU, officially signed Wednesday by the heads of both parties, gives both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive final agreement.
The conflict with Iran has cost thousands of lives and devastated the world economy; This led a handful of Republicans to break with Trump on the issue. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, with four Republicans voting with Democrats to restrict Trump’s authority in Iran.
Trump defended the ceasefire agreement at the G7 summit on Wednesday and also vowed to “go back to dropping bombs right in their heads” if Iran misbehaved.
