GOP senator offers blistering take on Trump Iran deal: A ‘tremendous foreign policy blunder’

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Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) on Wednesday slammed the deal between the Trump administration and Iran, two days before the two sides are set to sign it.

“The details that I’ve seen so far look … awful. This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder,” Cassidy told Nexstar’s Reshad Hudson on Capitol Hill.

President Trump has said the involved parties will not release the text of the agreement until the two sides sign it in Switzerland on Friday. But multiple outlets, including Bloomberg and CNN, have released details of a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran.

The reported MOU calls for fighting to end on “all fronts,” including with respect to the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days.

It also says the U.S. and regional partners will finance at least $300 billion for a reconstruction fund for Iran. Trump, though, said Wednesday the U.S. will not contribute to the fund.

Under the reported agreement, the U.S. would also end all sanctions on Iran, including on Iranian oil exports, while Tehran would commit to not producing nuclear weapons. The deal does not bar Iran from enriching uranium, however.

Cassidy said if the deal is carried out, Iran “ends up stronger” and U.S. allies in the region “end up weaker.” The MOU reportedly calls for the two sides to negotiate a final deal within 60 days.

The Louisiana Republican added, “Iran has learned that if they’re willing to grab that Strait of Hormuz and choke it off, they can get the Western world to dance to their tune. I think [the deal is] a deep mistake.”

Trump said Tuesday he “wouldn’t mind” sending the agreement to Congress for approval.

Cassidy, who lost his primary last month to Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), argued the legislative branch must receive a full briefing from the Trump administration.

“It’s clear that they don’t have a plan. Or if this is the plan, it’s not a very good plan, and that’s because it’s now been five months,” Cassidy said, referring to the president initially saying the Iran war would take four to five weeks.

“So that’s why I think Congress needs the ability to be fully briefed and to weigh in,” added the Louisiana senator, who voted Tuesday in favor of an unsuccessful resolution intended to force Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from combat against Iran.

“Not to be told kind of top line what’s going on, but to be fully briefed. And that’s my … goal right now. Let the American people, by their elected representatives, have input into what we’re doing, because it’s not going as we were promised that it would go.”

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Bill Cassidy

Donald Trump

Julia Letlow

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