Nebraska Republican Senator Deb Fischer was widely mocked after criticizing how Democrats' previous attempts at securing peace with Iran resulted in the U.S. sending "pallets of cash" to the country, only to be proven wrong almost immediately following President Donald Trump's deal with Iran.
The Trump administration and Iran reached a preliminary agreement on Sunday aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. While both sides have digitally signed the accord, many details remain unresolved.
When asked for her thoughts on the matter, Fischer was critical of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement reached between Iran, the P5+1 nations—China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—along with the European Union.
The deal was designed to ensure Iran’s nuclear program remained peaceful; the International Atomic Energy Agency verified Iran’s compliance with major nuclear commitments under the agreement, which then led the U.S. and the EU to lift certain nuclear-related sanctions.
Fischer said:
"Let's remember the president is negotiating from a position of strength. Iran is weak, we've gone in and shown the strength of America, and now the president's able to negotiate from a position of strength this time. It's not going in and just acquiescing to what the Iranians want." ...
"The American lives lost is a tragedy but we have to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. We did not do that under the JCPOA. I was not a supporter of the JCPOA."
"Iran played us on that and we ended up sending pallets of cash to them. I doubt that's going to happen under President Trump."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
But Fischer now has to eat her words.
A senior Trump administration official said Monday that the U.S. has proposed giving Iran access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund as part of a tentative agreement between the two countries.
The official stressed that Iran would only gain access to the money if it complied with the deal's requirements, including permanently abandoning any pursuit of nuclear weapons and avoiding activities that could lead to renewed sanctions. The funds would also be restricted from supporting terrorism or other destabilizing actions in the region.
It was clear Fischer's remarks aged like milk—and she was swiftly mocked once the news of the Trump administration's deal was reported.
One wonders why people like Fischer have so much faith in "the art of the deal" when it's been pretty clear for a long time that Trump is just looking to save face any chance he gets.
