House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday criticized President Obama’s decision to purchase $8.6 million worth of heavy water from Iran, and said the U.S. should not be in a position of economically subsidizing Iran.
“For Tehran, the nuclear agreement is the gift that keeps on giving,” Ryan said. “This purchase — part of what appears to be the administration’s full-court press to sweeten the deal — will directly subsidize Iran’s nuclear program. It’s yet another unprecedented concession to the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
The Obama administration announced Friday that the United States will purchase 32 tons of heavy water, a key ingredient in the construction of nuclear weapons. U.S. officials said the move was aimed at helping Iran shrink its stockpile of nuclear weapons under the nuclear deal and to encourage other nations to buy heavy water from Iran.
Republicans, who have been critical of the nuclear deal, oppose further moves that would economically benefit Iran.
Earlier this week, Ryan warned against allowing Iran access to the U.S. dollar, and the House GOP introduced legislation banning the use of the dollar in trade deals with Iran.
