WASHINGTON — A coalition of five senior Democratic U.S. senators issued a sharp rebuke Thursday of the Trump administration’s decision to ease sanctions on Iranian oil, calling the policy contradictory, dangerous and lacking any clear strategic rationale.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, in releasing a joint statement March 26.
“The Trump Administration is handing the Iranian regime billions of dollars in oil revenue while Iran is attacking our partners, our diplomats and our service members — 13 of whom have already tragically died in this war,” the senators said in the statement. “Neither the Administration’s war nor its approach to sanctions on Iran have been tied to clear, defensible strategic objectives.”
The senators argued that the decision to lift sanctions while simultaneously waging military operations against Iran represents a fundamental inconsistency in U.S. foreign policy. “Waging war on a regime while simultaneously enabling it to increase oil profits by lifting sanctions makes zero sense and reaches new levels of incoherence,” they said.
The lawmakers also raised concerns that the policy could benefit China, warning that the decision “appears to open the door for Chinese financial institutions to facilitate transactions with Iran’s central bank,” which they said directly undercuts the administration’s own stated goal of limiting Beijing’s role in the Iranian oil trade. They further noted there are “no clear safeguards, transparency or accountability for where that money ends up.”
The senators concluded by calling on the administration to provide a public accounting of its decision-making. “Americans deserve to understand the strategic rationale for making such a decision and how it enhances the national security of the United States,” they said. “From rising gas prices at home to a lack of clarity on objectives abroad, this looks less like a plan and more like a panicked move that benefits our adversaries while leaving the American people to bear the cost.”
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