Senate Armed Services chair blasts Trump's Iran deal: 'Negotiates away the victories' – KATU
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by RAY LEWIS | The National News Desk
HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The head of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee spoke out Thursday against President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran.
The administration has agreed with Tehran to end a regional conflict that has reportedly killed thousands, as well as to reopen a critical oil trade route and relieve an Iranian economy crippled by American sanctions. A few Republican lawmakers, like Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker, have raised concern with Trump’s concessions, some of which have been made in expectation of a final treaty.
The Armed Services chairman accused the war’s mediators of undermining the president’s objectives, which have been collectively labeled as a “peace through strength” initiative but are more muddled than the Reagan-era policy.
“Since day one, I have supported President Trump’s efforts to end Iran’s 47-year threat to the United States and our partners,” Wicker said in a statement. “I am concerned that the memorandum of understanding negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the President’s goals.”
Trump agreed to help develop a $300 billion investment in Iran, which has suffered under American airstrikes and sanctions in the three and a half months since the war began. The U.S. will also free frozen assets of Iranian officials targeted during the administration’s financial campaign, which it called Operation Economic Fury.
Wicker has taken issue with the president’s reversal, which he said amounted to a much greater form of relief than granted by former President Barack Obama under the 2015 nuclear deal.
“The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,'" the senator claimed. “The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim.”
Tehran has committed to not restarting the war or any other military operation against the U.S. or its allies, although Israeli fighting in Lebanon has jeopardized the treaty. The White House has grown wary of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s impact on the deal, but its public presentation of the agreement attempts to suggest otherwise.
A spokesperson for the office told The National News Desk on Friday that the U.S.’s performance at the negotiating table and on the battlefield is “nothing short of remarkable.”
“Following the historic destruction of Iran’s military capabilities through the successful Operation Epic Fury, President Trump and his negotiating team have brokered an excellent, performance-based MOU that advances the interests of the United States by ending the fighting, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to significantly lower energy prices, and forcing Iran to commit to abandon its nuclear ambitions,” spokeswoman Olivia Wales said.
Do you have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.
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