Sen. Ted Cruz is accusing “deep state” Obama loyalists of attempting to hamstring President Trump’s foreign policy agenda as it relates to Iran.
The Texas Republican released a statement Wednesday responding to reports that the Trump administration is considering extending waivers to Tehran allowing the regime to continue work on its nuclear capabilities.
“I hope these reports turn out to be wrong. The president has correctly ordered his administration to halt implementation of the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal,” Cruz said.
“These waivers are part of the deal, and allow the Ayatollahs to build up their nuclear program, including at Fordow, a bunker they dug into the side of a mountain so they could build nuclear weapons,” Cruz added.
The conservative senator blamed “deep state staffers” for pushing the lax policy on Iran.
If the waivers are granted, “then it is a temporary victory for the deep state staffers at Treasury and State who continue working tirelessly to preserve the Obama Iran deal rather than implementing the president’s directive,” Cruz said.
Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin reported Tuesday that Trump is expected to announce the waivers later this week. According to Rogin, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin advocated for restoring the waivers, which were part of the Iran deal, in an Oval Office meeting last week.
Mnuchin convinced Trump over the objections of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.
