GOP Hawks Alarmed As Trump Mulls Deal To End His Iran War

“If it is perceived in the region that a deal with Iran allows the regime to survive and become more powerful over time, we will have poured gasoline on the conflicts in Lebanon and Iraq,” wrote Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who lobbied Trump to attack Iran repeatedly before the start of the war.“A deal that is perceived to allow Iran to survive and possess the ability to control the [Strait of Hormuz] in the future will put Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Shia militias in Iraq on steroids.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), another longtime Iran hawk, said he was“deeply concerned” about what he's been hearing about the deal and expressed particular worry about Iran getting relief from US sanctions while still maintaining the ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime – still run by Islamists who chant 'death to America' – now receiving billions of dollars,” Cruz wrote,“being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was even blunter in his condemnation of the reported agreement.

“The rumored 60-day ceasefire – with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith – would be a disaster,” Wicker wrote.“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”

Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser for President Barack Obama, challenged Wicker's claims that Trump's war had achieved anything of value.

“Nothing was accomplished by Operation Epic Fury,” Rhodes wrote,“except putting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in charge of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.”