A senior Senate Republican says President Trump, who abruptly changed his weekend travel plans, must “finish what we started” by striking Iran instead of trying to secure a deal with the regime.
Sen. Roger Wicker, Mississippi Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Mr. Trump faces a moment that will define his legacy as Pakistani mediators work on a peace deal.
“Further pursuit of an agreement with Iran’s Islamist regime risks a perception of weakness. We must finish what we started. It is past time for action,” Mr. Wicker said on X.
Mr. Trump has said he wants to give diplomacy a chance, though he is ready to launch a new bombardment if Tehran does not meet his terms for giving up on a nuclear weapon.
The president said he plans to remain at the White House this weekend instead of heading to his New Jersey golf club, as initially planned, or attending his eldest son’s wedding in the Bahamas.
Mr. Trump did not tie his decision directly to Iran. However, he said “circumstances pertaining to government, and my love for the United States of America,” did not permit him to attend the wedding.
“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Mr. Wicker said it is time for Mr. Trump to send Iran a stern message.
“His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill-advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on,” Mr. Wicker wrote on X. “Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait.”
Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar traveled to Iran on Friday in a bid to finalize a peace deal between Tehran and Washington.
Gulf allies like Qatar would like to see an extended ceasefire or lasting peace. Iran retaliated against U.S. allies in the region after Mr. Trump launched his military operation against Iran on Feb. 28.
“Iran is dying to make a deal, we’ll see what happens, but we hit them hard,” Mr. Trump said at the White House on Friday. “We had no choice because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They cannot have it.”
Negotiators have closed in on a peace deal in the past, only for it to fall apart.
It is unclear if negotiators can finish the job this time. Sticking points remain, including what to do with Iran’s enriched uranium and methods for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil waterway that Tehran effectively shut down after the start of the war.
Some ships have gotten through the strait as the U.S. military maintains a blockade of Iranian ports. However, the situation is tenuous, and Iran and Oman want to formalize control of the strait.
Also Friday, Sen. Tom Cotton urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to sanction any entity that tries to block traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, including the Persian Gulf Strait Authority that was recently established by Iran.
“The PGSA cannot operate without the consent of other nations, and the United States must ensure every actor enabling the terrorist Iranian regime is held accountable,” said Mr. Cotton, Arkansas Republican.
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