US lawmakers voiced skepticism Wednesday over a US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at ending the war, with senior Democrats on both the Senate and House sides demanding the Trump administration brief Congress about the details of the agreement.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, said during remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC that she hasn’t seen the actual text of the MOU, calling the reported text a “full capitulation”
“The devil is in the details, and so far we haven’t gotten a real signed agreement. That’s why I would urge the president and the White House to release the agreement, whatever it is, as soon as possible to Congress…Based on the scorecard I’m keeping, I don’t see what the wins are,” she said.
Senior House Democrats also demanded a briefing on the agreement, with Representatives Gregory Meeks, Adam Smith and Jim Himes — ranking members of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees — sending a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“For more than 15 weeks, the Administration left Congress and the American people in the dark about a war of choice that has proved to be a strategic failure,” the lawmakers wrote, citing 14 service members killed and disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
“While we welcome the Administration’s turn toward diplomacy and its decision to end this war of choice, the Administration must provide Congress with greater details about the MoU, any side agreements, and the Administration’s plan and strategy for the 60-day ceasefire period; including its approach to sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program, and reported economic and reconstruction funds,” they added.
The letter posed seven questions to Rubio, including whether the administration is complying with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, how Iran’s nuclear compliance will be monitored, what was agreed on Lebanon, whether limits exist on Iran’s ballistic missile program, and how much the US has committed to the reported $300 billion reconstruction fund.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, released a video message on the US social media platform X demanding answers on the MOU, saying that the deal leaves the US worse off than before the war.
“The Strait of Hormuz apparently is now going to be open after 30 days. Well, guess what? It was open before the war started…We are literally going back to a position that is worse than when we started,” she said.
The US and Iran on Wednesday remotely signed a memorandum of understanding, officials from both countries announced.
The 14-point draft, made public by US officials on Wednesday, calls for an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, the phased lifting of US sanctions and removal of the naval blockade on Iran within 30 days, and safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
It also includes a US-coordinated reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran valued at a minimum of $300 billion, oil export waivers, the release of Iran’s frozen assets, and a reaffirmation by Tehran that it will not develop nuclear weapons, with the future of its enriched uranium stockpile to be negotiated within 60 days.
