Reactions of members of Congress representing Lake County are critical of President Donald Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran to resolve some issues to end the war he started Feb. 28 and continue negotiating during a 60-day ceasefire to agree on the rest.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the memorandum ignores critical issues and specificity over Iran’s “hollow promise” not to seek a nuclear weapon. The door is open for Iran to charge ships using the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have grave concerns,” Schneider said. “The bottom line is this memorandum of understanding is weak. It is not an agreement that demonstrates a clear path to ensuring Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and looks much more like a Trump-(Vice President JD) Vance capitulation to Iran’s demands.”
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, said in an email that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated by former President Barack Obama in 2015 worked. Trump’s end of American involvement with the JCPOA, choosing war over diplomacy, has not improved the situation.
“Donald Trump dismantled that successful agreement and then launched an illegal, unauthorized war without congressional approval,” Schakowsky said in the email. “This crisis was avoidable. Diplomacy works.”
Schneider and Schakowsky criticized the Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively in the northern suburbs, suggesting Trump’s effort to end a war there may not improve the situation.
The “interim deal” stops the war before Trump’s oft-stated goal of preventing Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon is achieved, according to the Associated Press (AP). It opens a two-month timeframe for nuclear negotiations, giving Iran upfront benefits with little in return.
With no precise guidelines to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, Schneider said Iran gave its word in the past, while it has continued to fund terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. It does not deal with Iran’s ballistic missiles, rockets or drones.
“There are no specifics on actions to make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon. Iran has always said we’re not going to build a nuclear weapon. Iran’s actions don’t justify accepting a hollow promise. We need to have concrete steps with enforceability and the ability to verify complaints.”
Among the immediate benefits to Iran are the removal of sanctions, giving it the ability to sell oil freely, removing important leverage the United States will have in the next 60 days, according to the AP. Trump said at the start of the war, a goal was the removal of the current Iranian regime.
Elimination of those sanctions and the potential payment of hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran worries Schneider. He said the memorandum does not address many of the issues Trump said were goals of the war Feb. 28.
Fearing “Trump’s war of choice doesn’t seem to advance our goals.” Schneider said America’s allies in the region are less safe and Iran will receive $300 billion in “reparations and access to another $200 billion in frozen assets,” making the current regime he wanted to replace wealthier.
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“The same people are still in charge and this agreement would give this regime $300 billion,” Schneider said. “It’s just beyond comprehension to me how this is good for the United States, good for our allies or good for the world.”
Schakowsky said the costs of the war to the American people, with the death of 13 members of the U.S. Armed Forces, are enormous. Civilians were hurt and “an already extraordinarily fragile region has been further destabilized.”
“This crisis was avoidable,” Schakowsky said. “Diplomacy works. The JCPOA worked. Based on reports, Trump’s agreement falls short of the JCPOA and represents a step backward from proven diplomacy. The American people deserve full transparency and accountability for the failures that led to this illegal war.”
Schneider said the memorandum apparently binds the United States, Iran and their allies but makes no mention of nonstate actors Iran supports like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. Israel, an American ally, and Hezbollah are currently fighting in Lebanon.
“To the extent this MOU ties Israel’s hands without extracting from Hezbollah a commitment to stop attacking Israel and from Iran and Hezbollah a recognition of Israel to find a path to live in peace, this agreement is a real concern,” Schneider said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.