Senate Armed Services chair slams Iran peace deal
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker on Thursday panned the Iran peace deal signed by President Donald Trump this week, saying the agreement “negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the president’s goals.”
The Mississippi Republican, a vocal defense hawk, has repeatedly warned against negotiating with Tehran, arguing that the country’s leadership can’t be trusted to fulfill any agreement. Wicker has instead urged Trump to end a months-long ceasefire and continue bombing Iran.
In a statement, Wicker criticized the $300 billion fund for Iran’s reconstruction and economic development, even if the money is not supplied by American taxpayers. Administration officials have said the money, coming from regional partners, would be made available only if Iran reaches certain compliance benchmarks.
Wicker said he believes the money will instead be used for terrorist activities, regardless of the guardrails put in place.
“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’” he said. “The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim.”
Wicker is among a chorus of influential Republicans to criticize the nascent deal. The Trump administration sent the 14-point document to Congress on Thursday.
Some have expressed concerns about whether the agreement will free up funds for Iran and whether the pact does enough to limit its nuclear ambitions.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who was defeated in a primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents, assailed the administration’s deal as “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Cassidy wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) defended the deal as an important preliminary step but also dismissed the $300 billion fund as “not something that’s going to happen.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said the potential end to the war and the resumption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are “a step in the right direction,” though he worries Iran might use the windfall of access to frozen assets to support proxy groups in the Middle East.
“I have more concerns about the release of frozen assets,” Rounds said. “If that’s the case, what stops them from using that to fund Hezbollah and other terrorist activities as they have done in the past?”
