WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a deal Wednesday that lays out an end to the Iran war, and Alabama’s U.S. Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville are standing behind the president and his “dealmaker” capabilities.
After Trump announced a tentative agreement to end hostilities on Sunday, U.S. officials explained to reporters the 14 points of the memorandum on Wednesday. The deal, which is now in effect, will end all fighting and kickstart negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program over the next 60 days. It will also reopen the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days.
The agreement will allow Iran to receive about $300 billion to rebuild as part of a reconstruction fund and the United States will waive sanctions on the country. But that’s only if the two countries make a final deal on Iran diluting its highly enriched uranium.
Speaking to reporters at the G7 Summit, Trump denied that the United States would be the one to invest in the $300 billion reconstruction fund, which has sparked criticism.
“We’re not investing, we’re not putting up $0.10,” Trump said. “And people can decide to do that, but that’s up to them. I mean, do you want me to say nobody’s ever allowed to invest in a country?”
Before U.S. officials detailed the memorandum to reporters Wednesday, Congress was left in the dark about the specifics of the plan. Administration officials have yet to brief lawmakers about the details of the deal.
On Wednesday morning, before the White House laid out the 14 points of the agreement, Britt said she looked forward to reading the deal, particularly “with regards to nuclear ambitions or lack thereof from Iran.”
“Seeing those details, being able to put in front of Congress will be important so we can be unified in making sure that we take down the greatest threat for terrorism across the globe and that is Iran,” Britt said during an interview on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom.
At the same time, the Alabama Republican heaped praise on the president for his negotiations with Iran, calling him the “best dealmaker that there is on the planet.”
She added that the agreement is an “exercise of don’t trust but verify” when it comes to how Iran will keep up its end of the bargain.
Tuberville told Alabama Daily News that the United States is “just lucky to get” a deal as some lawmakers considered whether Congress should have a vote on the agreement under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
The law was passed in the wake of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 deal with Iran and requires Congress to review any nuclear deal involving the country.
“First of all, we don’t need to get in the president’s way for sure,” Tuberville told ADN. “We got enough Democrats in the way, so we don’t, as Republicans, we don’t need to get in the way and put a kink in this, because they worked hard at it, and we spent a lot of money.”
While Britt and Tuberville expressed support for Trump’s deal, Democrats and some Republicans were dismayed by the agreement. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, said the deal is the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”
“Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive,” Cassidy posted on social media. “Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.”
A formal signing ceremony will take place on Friday in Switzerland, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, who helped mediate the deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.