Nuclear deal critics silent as Trump says Iran complying
Lawmakers who once insisted Iran was cheating aren’t taking the administration to task for saying otherwise.
US lawmakers who once loudly insisted that Iran was cheating on the nuclear deal stayed quiet April 19 after the Donald Trump administration declared otherwise.
In a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Iran has been “compliant” through April 18 with its commitments under the 2015 agreement. That assessment tracks with what the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has repeatedly concluded.
Tillerson went on to say that the administration would nevertheless conduct a review of the deal to see if it is in the United States’ national security interest given Iran’s role as a “leading” state sponsor of terrorism. In a subsequent press conference, he said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “really doesn’t achieve” its objectives because it merely tries to “buy off” Iran for a short period of time. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry sent a report to parliament April 15 stating that Iran had been able to access $3.9 billion in previously frozen assets over the past three months.
The Trump administration’s assessment was greeted with a deafening silence in Congress, which is out of session this week, notably by Iran hawks who had previously said that Iran was already in violation of the deal. The lack of response suggests congressional Republicans, like the Trump administration, are in no rush to tear up a deal and be held responsible for the consequences.
