Iran deal reportedly includes Tehran committing to giving up its enriched uranium | LIVE BLOG

Senior Republicans criticize reported terms of emerging Iran deal, warn it would be a 'disastrous mistake'

Senior Republicans voiced criticism on Saturday over the reported terms of the deal that US President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, is negotiating with Tehran to end the Iran war, in a sign of growing pushback from within his own party.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said he was "deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran 'deal' being pushed by some voices in the administration." Cruz warned that if the outcome left an Iranian regime "receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake." He added that he was praying "the early reports are wrong" and urged Trump to "hold the line."

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that ending the war along the proposed terms would amount to conceding that there is no military solution to defeating Iran. His post was shared by the Senate Republicans' X account and reposted by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that "the rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster," adding, "Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught," referring to the war by Washington's name for it. Wicker had earlier in the week urged Trump to ignore advisers pushing for an agreement and to "finish the job he started."

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also weighed in, writing that the deal "being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world." Pompeo called it "not remotely America First," and laid out his own prescription: "Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region."

The criticism came after Trump said on Saturday that a peace agreement with Tehran had been "largely negotiated" and would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though he offered few details and did not mention Iran's nuclear program.

The proposed US deal includes Iran apparently committing to giving up its enriched uranium - report

A key element of the proposed agreement between Iran and the United States is an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to two US officials cited in a New York Times report.

US officials said the proposal does not resolve exactly how Iran would surrender the stockpile, with those details left for a later round of talks on Tehran's nuclear program. A general commitment to relinquish the material, a long-standing US objective, is considered critical to the emerging deal, particularly if the broader agreement faces skepticism from Republicans in Congress, the report said.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was close to reaching an agreement with Iran to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but he provided no details, and it remained unclear what hurdles might remain. White House officials did not respond to requests for comment, and Iran has made no public statement on the agreement Trump described. 

According to the report, Iran had initially resisted including any commitment on its stockpile in the first phase of the deal, but US negotiators made clear through intermediaries that Washington would walk away from talks and resume its military campaign unless the issue was included.

Pakistani FM source tells Qatari media that the proposal includes extending ceasefire for 60 days, opening the Strait of Hormuz