Bipartisan questions about Trump’s Iran deal

By RealWV Staff,

CHARLESTON, WV — As President Donald Trump touts a deal with Iran to potentially end hostilities which began on February 28 when the United State and Israel launched a joint strike, state and federal political leaders aren’t exactly circling the wagons in support.

On a media call with reporters yesterday, in response to a question by WV Metronews, Senator Shelly Moore Capito, a Republican and close ally of the President, said, “We’ve been left in the dark really this week, giving the president some, you know, some leeway to finish this up. But now that this has been signed, we need to have those details. So we need to have the oversight. If in fact the president does sign a full agreement with the Iranians. I believe it needs to come before the Senate for us to debate and for us to weigh in on.”

Capito said Trump’s efforts have seen positive results, with Iran’s ability to fire and manufacture weapons limited. However, she has concerns about the domestic economic impact, saying, “I understand that this memorandum of understanding will open up the Strait of Hormuz. This should ease the gasoline issue of price that we’ve seen. I mean, they never come down as quick as they go up.”

Capito’s colleague, Sen. Jim Justice, has not commented yet publicly on the proposed deal, but a number of other Republican senators have been outspoken in opposition to it. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker criticized Trump for including a $300 billion payment to Iran, which appears to come from a variety of sources and nations, saying it would eventually be spent to harm Americans by a regime whose “ultimate goal (is) ‘Death to America.'”

“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Sen. Bill Cassidy posted on social media yesterday. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.”

Closer to home, Del. Mike Pushkin, who is also Chair of the WV Democratic Party, called the entire military operation into question.

“Americans deserve a simple answer: What exactly did we accomplish?” Pushkin said. “If Iran remains governed by the same regime, retains influence throughout the region, receives a massive redevelopment package, and emerges with renewed leverage over global energy markets, what was the point of this war?”