Over 200 Republican lawmakers in the US Congress have signed onto a letter urging President Donald Trump to remain committed to a hardline strategy toward Iran, calling on the White House to only agree to a deal that “dismantles” Iran’s nuclear program.

In a letter signed by 177 members of the House and 52 members of the Senate, the Republicans argued that the White House must avoid any agreement resembling the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the administration of former President Barack Obama, which they claim merely delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions while allowing the Islamist regime to quietly advance its program.

“We write to express our strong support for your efforts to secure a deal with Iran that dismantles its nuclear program, and to reinforce the explicit warnings that you and officials in your administration have issued that the regime must permanently give up any capacity for enrichment,” the letter stated.

The letter, led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), underscored the importance of dismantling the entirety of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. 

“The scope and breadth of Iran’s nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium,” the letter read. “The regime must give up any capacity for enrichment.”

“We cannot afford another agreement that enables Iran to play for time, as the JCPOA did,” the letter continued, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the 2015 nuclear accord. “The Iranian regime should know that the administration has congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is permanently eliminated.”

The letter repudiated the former Biden administration for rescinding sanctions on Iran, saying that they “allowed Iran to reach the brink of nuclear breakout, which is where they are today.”

“The Biden administration made those concessions without any reciprocal concessions from Iran, and Iran even ceased providing international inspectors access to significant parts of its nuclear program in the early days of the Biden administration,” the letter stated.

Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under the first Trump administration crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized the Biden administration for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency. Critics argue that Iran likely used these funds to provide resources for Hamas and Hezbollah to wage new terrorist campaigns against the Jewish state, including the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel perpetrated by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists.

The Trump administration has been engaged in negotiations with Iran in recent weeks to reach a deal over the Iranian nuclear program. On Thursday, Trump said that the US was getting very close to securing a deal and that Tehran had “sort of” agreed to the terms. However, Iranian officials reportedly said there were still gaps to bridge in the talks.

Trump on Tuesday denounced Iran as the “most destructive force” in the Middle East, accusing Tehran of fueling regional instability and vowing that Washington would never allow the country to acquire a nuclear weapon.

The administration has sent conflicting messages regarding its ongoing discussions with Iran, oscillating between demands for “complete dismantlement” of Tehran’s nuclear program and signaling support for allowing a limited degree of uranium enrichment.

Trump indicated last Wednesday during a radio interview that he is seeking to “blow up” Iran’s nuclear centrifuges “nicely” through an agreement with Tehran but is also prepared to do so “viciously” in an attack if necessary. That same day, however, when asked by a reporter in the White House whether his administration would allow Iran to maintain an enrichment program as long as it doesn’t enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, Trump said his team had not decided. “We haven’t made that decision yet,” Trump said. “We will, but we haven’t made that decision.”

Republican lawmakers and hawkish foreign policy analysts have become increasingly skeptical and vocal in criticizing the Trump administration’s approach to the Iranian nuclear program, suggesting that the White House has received bad advice and is crafting a deal that might resemble the controversial 2015 accord, which imposed temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief. Trump withdrew the US from the deal and reimposed sanctions, arguing the agreement was bad for American national security.

The Israeli outlet Israel Hayom recently wrote that the Trump team has adopted a framework which “suggests that the Americans have, at least for now, abandoned several of the fundamental demands that were emphasized before negotiations began.” 

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served as Trump’s top diplomat from 2018 to 2021, also questioned the utility of attempting to broker a nuclear deal with Iran “while it is at its weakest strategic point in decades” in a recent article for the Free Press. He appeared to be referring to Israel’s military activities in recent months decimating Iran’s air defenses and proxy forces — particularly Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — in the Middle East. 

The White House has also received criticism from fellow Republicans in Congress. In a comment posted on X/Twitter, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), for example, lamented, “Anyone urging Trump to enter into another Obama Iran deal is giving the president terrible advice.”

Last week, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tom Cotton (R-AK) unveiled a new resolution demanding Iran completely “dismantle” its nuclear program.

“Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon; that’s off the table,” Graham said during a press conference last Thursday.

Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade at its Fordow site dug into a mountain.

The UK, France, and Germany said in a statement at the time that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Iran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”

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