Bill Cassidy

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy condemned President Donald Trump’s 14-point deal pausing hostilities with Iran, which is slated to be signed Friday in Switzerland.

“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, wrote on X Wednesday afternoon, referring to President Ronald Reagan. “Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.

Cassidy continued: “Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions, and 13 service members were still alive. Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped. This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.”

The other seven members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation weren’t immediately prepared to comment until after studying the text of the memorandum of understanding, which was released Wednesday afternoon.

Before the text was released, Cassidy had been making critical statements over the past few days based on what was being leaked publicly, though he had cautioned that he had not seen the details.

Cassidy told Louisiana reporters in a phone press conference Tuesday: “This is a bad deal, if the details remain the same. The deal, as I've heard it, makes your allies weaker and Iran stronger.”

During a Capitol hallway interview Wednesday morning, Cassidy told a reporter with Nexstar Media Group, a Texas-based chain of television stations across the country: “This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder.”

Initially Trump said the details wouldn’t be released until after the agreement is signed on Friday.

But parts of the MOU were reported Wednesday morning by national news outlets. And Trump answered questions Wednesday about the agreement during a press conference in France, where the president is attending a G-7 economic conference.

Details were released after Trump's press conference.

The memorandum terminates all military operations for 60 days while the parties negotiate how Iran gets rid of fissionable nuclear materials.

“If it doesn’t happen in 60 days we go back to bombing,” Trump said.

Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would end. Iran also agrees to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow tankers to ship crude oil around the world. Iran would be allowed to sell its oil.

Additionally, the U.S. and other nations in region would guarantee financing about $300 billion to rebuild Iran. The U.S. would not contribute any money, Trump said, though the release of frozen assets and investments from private companies could be included.

Though one of the few to speak publicly about his reservations, Cassidy’s theme tracks what several of his GOP colleagues are telling reporters. They fear Trump’s MOU would be all too similar to a deal struck during the Democratic Obama administration that Trump put aside in May 2018 during his first term, because of harsh criticism from most Republicans.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed in July 2015 by the United States, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The deal essentially restricted Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in return for relaxing trade sanctions and releasing frozen Iran’s foreign assets.