Bill Cassidy

The two Democrats running to replace U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy have joined him in condemning President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran, while the two Republican candidates have voiced support for the president.

Farmer Jamie Davis and business owner Gary Crockett are facing off in the Democratic runoff on June 27, while Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming go head-to-head in the Republican primary that day. The winners will meet in a Nov. 3 general election.

Trump’s deal calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which passes 20% of the petroleum liquids consumed worldwide. It also would provide $300 billion to rebuild Iran and at least temporarily lift restrictions on the country’s oil exports that have devastated Iran’s economy.

The agreement does not immediately address whether Iran would be able to continue working to develop nuclear weapons.

Trump lavished praise on the accord and said it left him the option to resume bombing Iran if they don’t hold up their end.

Cassidy, however, held nothing back Wednesday in reacting to initial information of the deal. Cassidy has freely expressed his opposition to Trump after losing his reelection campaign in the Republican primary last month, following the president’s endorsement of Letlow.

“Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” Cassidy wrote on X, 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.”

Davis said he and Cassidy don’t agree on many things.

“But I do share his concerns,” Davis said in an interview. “We are in a worse place than when this mess began. We’ve spent billions on this. The state as a whole has a lot riding on shipping, especially fertilizers for farmers. The deal they tore up was as good or better.”

Davis was referring to the 2015 agreement forged by then-President Barack Obama that won the support of Congress.

It unfroze $1.7 billion in Iranian funds held in foreign banks and led Iran to remove about 97 percent of its nuclear stockpile at the time out of the country. Trump tore up that deal after he took office.

Crockett, who spent 24 years in the Navy, said in an interview that he agrees with Cassidy.

“This was a complete disaster,” Crockett said. “What Trump has done is a complete surrender, after lies and billions of dollars.”

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy offered cautious support for the deal.

“I hope it works out. I’ve got my doubts,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor. “I hope our giving peace a chance makes peace possible.”

Letlow expressed support for the accord.

“President Trump has been clear from the beginning that Iran can never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon,” she said in a statement. “I trust President Trump to ensure that any agreement protects American interests, supports our allies and leaves Iran with no path to a nuclear weapon.”

Fleming, in an interview, said what’s been announced leaves several questions unanswered.

“For instance, who is funding the $300 billion? I suspect that it will be mostly the Middle East countries,” Fleming said. “They want this to go through. They want peace.”

Fleming noted that he voted against Obama’s 2015 deal with Iran and believes Trump’s will be better because of the president’s threat to punish the country by resuming attacks.

“He said that if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, he’ll bomb the hell out of them,” Fleming said. “With Trump staying on Iran, there will be much less loss of life in the Middle East, and we’ll have a permanent good outcome. We cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons.”