A nuclear deal between the US and Iran could help fund terrorism, Republican lawmakers have warned.
Donald Trump on Thursday said that America was “very close” to securing a nuclear deal with Iran, and that Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms.
Any deal would likely involve the US offering sanction relief in exchange for guarantees from Tehran to scale back its uranium enrichment programme.
However, the president faces stiff opposition from members of his own party who have warned that removing economic restrictions on Iran could enable the gulf state to funnel money into terrorist groups, threatening national security.
“Any lift in sanctions economically could give them access to reserves and capital that gives them the ability to fund terrorism and also build a conventional military,” a Republican congressman told The Telegraph.
“Iran would be able to fund terrorist proxies like the Houthis and other rebel groups, further destabilising the region.”
Mr Trump on Thursday announced that a deal was close and urged Iran to act quickly at the end of his four-day visit to the Gulf States.
“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” the president said.
Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday, he added: “They have a proposal. They know they have to move quickly or something bad is gonna happen.”
Oil prices fell by about $2 in anticipation that a US-Iran nuclear deal could result in sanctions easing.
Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s envoy, presented Iranian officials with a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations in Oman on Sunday, according to Axios.
The proposal allegedly laid out the parameters for an Iranian civilian nuclear programme and requirements for monitoring and verification.
However, reports of a deal were thrown into confusion on Friday after Iran’s foreign minister denied receiving any written proposals, “whether directly or indirectly”.
Although Tehran and Washington have both said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, there are several red lines negotiators will need to resolve to reach a new deal and avert future military action.
A senior Iranian adviser told NBC on Wednesday that Tehran is prepared to sign a deal to give up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium but continue to enrich uranium to lower levels for civilian use, in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions.
This has proved a sticking point for Republicans in the House and Senate, who have written to the president to urge him to ensure that all of Iran’s ability to enrich uranium is “permanently eliminated”.
In nearly identical letters signed by over 300 House and Senate Republicans, GOP members warned that a deal would enable Iran to “play for time” and that the scale of Iran’s nuclear build-out is so significant that it would be “impossible” to verify future uranium enrichment is carried out for civilian purposes only.
“The Iranian regime should know that the administration has Congressional backing to ensure its ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated,” GOP lawmakers wrote.
A Republican Congressional aide added: “There is certainly concern that any deal short of complete dismantlement would give Iran relief while empowering its human rights abuses, fuelling their proxies, and failing to curtail their nuclear ambitions.”
Mr Trump pulled out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and five other world powers in 2018 amid concern the arrangement enabled Tehran to continue to enrich uranium to high levels.
As part of Mr Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, Iran has, after Russia, faced the most extensive set of US sanctions in history.
Mr Trump previously warned of possible military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities if fresh talks - the first in 10 years - which began in April, did not succeed.
Iran is between a year and 18 months away from producing enough weapons-grade nuclear material to build a bomb, according to American officials.
An Iranian opposition group earlier this month revealed details of a previously undisclosed site dedicated to the construction of nuclear weapon components.
The existence of the nearly 2,500 acre facility, known as the Rangin Kaman “Rainbow” site, indicates “the regime is continuing its nuclear weapons programme even amid [US] negotiations,” according to Shahin Gobardi, a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
“The pursuit of nuclear weapons is a crucial part of the regime’s strategy for survival,” he said.
“Past experiences have shown that it cannot be trusted, and it will do everything it can to maintain its nuclear programmes through deception, concealment and misleading information.”
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