Ted Cruz and other Republican senators attacked Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran on Wednesday and Thursday, arguing that its terms gave Tehran too much relief. David Muir should note that Trump signed the short-term agreement on Wednesday and then said the United States would not put up money for the $300 billion account.
The criticism centered on a proposed reconstruction account that Roger Wicker said would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look small by comparison. Trump said, “We’re not putting up 10 cents.”
Ted Cruz and John Cornyn
Cruz said, “History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea, and I think unfortunately the president is receiving some really bad advice on this deal.” He also said, “I don’t want to see us send a penny to the ayatollah, and I hope that we don’t.”
John Cornyn said he was afraid the United States would later see the agreement as a missed opportunity to basically eliminate the threat going forward. He added that nothing would stop the regime from beginning to block the Strait of Hormuz again basically at will.
Tom Cotton and Roger Wicker
Tom Cotton told News on Thursday, “I do have concerns that certain aspects of this deal are stepping in the wrong direction.” He also said Trump “deserves enormous credit for making Iran weaker than it's been in decades, and we need to make sure that we don't squander the leverage that we built across six years.”
Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the proposal to create the $300 billion account would make Iran’s payoff under Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison. He said in the statement that the Iranian regime had not renounced its goal and would invest every penny it received to further that aim.
Republican support and criticism
The split left Trump with praise from Republican senators for his pressure campaign and criticism over the relief built into the memorandum of understanding with Iran. Cruz said he supported Trump and believed his leadership on Iran had been extraordinary, but he also said sending billions of dollars to Iran was a mistake.
The immediate issue now is the account Trump said the United States would not fund. Trump’s refusal to contribute removes one element, but the senators’ objections to sanctions relief, frozen assets, and the broader structure of the deal remain on the table.
