Reed Statement on Trump-Iran Ceasefire Agreement

WASHINGTON, DC-Today, President Trump sent Congress a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) he has signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran. After reviewing the MOU, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

"Every American should be relieved this war is ending, but President Trump deserves neither credit nor celebration for this outcome.

"The hard truth is that after more than 100 days of war, the President has secured little more than an agreement to begin talking about Iran's nuclear program. Trump chose war instead of diplomacy, forced the American people to pay for it, and is now accepting, as a triumph, an agreement objectively far weaker than the JCPOA he walked away from eight years ago.

"We should be clear-eyed about Trump's battlefield results. When he launched this war, the President promised he would destroy Iran's nuclear program, eliminate its missile and drone arsenal, dismantle its defense industrial base, wipe out its proxy networks, and bring about the fall of the Iranian regime itself. Not a single one of those goals has been met.

"Indeed, the specific terms of this memorandum make the outcome even harder to defend. Iran's central commitment - a pledge not to develop a nuclear weapon - is the same it has made for decades. Trump's new agreement fails to explicitly bar Iran from enriching uranium or developing nuclear components, and instead freezes the status quo with a promise for 'future negotiations.'

"Meanwhile, the President has agreed to immediately lift sanctions on Iranian oil before Tehran has made a single verifiable nuclear concession. That is gross negligence. Economic relief should be conditioned on demonstrated compliance, yet the Trump Administration is offering it as an opening bid.

"Finally, the President has agreed to establish a $300 billion investment fund to rebuild Iran. This concession, along with the release of $24 billion in Iranian funds currently frozen in bank accounts, gives Tehran a crucial economic lifeline that will allow it to begin rebuilding its military without having made any concrete concessions on its nuclear program. The hypocrisy would be laughable were it not so dangerous.

"The coming weeks will determine whether this ceasefire holds and whether genuine negotiations follow. I hope they do. But Trump's war was a catastrophic mistake, and this outcome does not justify it. The Administration must immediately appear before Congress to publicly explain its actions and this memorandum. I intend to ensure there are answers and accountability."

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a 2015 agreement between the United States, Iran, and other world powers that limited Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The deal imposed strict limits on uranium enrichment, reduced Iran's nuclear stockpile, and established international inspections intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. President Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

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