Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday tore into President Trump\u2019s tentative deal between the U.S. and Iran as he deemed the agreement to be a \u201cplan to make a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence started an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal by commending Trump for \u201cacting decisively\u201d by launching a military campaign against Iran. He wrote that all Americans should welcome peace, as nobody \u201cwants another prolonged war in the Middle East, despite the flippant accusations from isolationists on the populist right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut the memorandum of understanding with Iran signed last week falls well short of what is required to end the Iranian threat. It smacks of the kind of appeasement the president rightly rejected during our first term,\u201d Pence continued. \u201cIt isn\u2019t the deal a defeated Iran should be getting. It isn\u2019t even a deal\u2014it\u2019s a plan to make a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence wrote that the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran does not \u201ccapitalize\u201d on the debilitated state of Iran\u2019s military capabilities as a result of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he said it was \u201cmost troubling\u201d that the MOU does not require Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, nor does it put an end to its uranium enrichment. Leaving Iran\u2019s ballistic missile capacity intact and \u201cIranian support for terrorist organizations\u201d in the MOU are also \u201cequally concerning,\u201d the former vice president added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd while the agreement\u2019s timeline postpones answers on critical nuclear questions, it provides immediate economic benefits through partial sanctions relief and renewed energy exports, which will generate an estimated $5 billion a month for what remains of the Iranian regime,\u201d Pence wrote. \u201cThat gets the sequence backward. The U.S. shouldn\u2019t provide economic relief first and seek security concessions later. We should secure the concessions first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence said the U.S.\u2019s military offensive has made it possible for Iran to agree to American demands over its nuclear program, missile capacity and support for terrorist organizations. He also called for \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d to be restored in the Strait of Hormuz \u201cor face the full force of the American military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis 60-day period should be used to secure what this agreement doesn\u2019t yet provide: an end to Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions, an end to Iranian-backed terror, and an end to its half-century of warfare against the U.S. and Israel,\u201d the op-ed concludes. \u201cIf those reasonable goals cannot be achieved, Mr. Trump should let the armed forces finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pence has previously said Trump deserves some latitude on reaching a deal with Iran to reopen the strait and give both countries 60 days to finalize the deal, but he told The Hill last Tuesday that he still has \u201cvery real concerns.\u201d He was also doubtful about the tentative deal just before it was reached last Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump on Sunday warned Iran amid new Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which has tested the MOU and delayed peace talks originally scheduled for Friday led by Vice President Vance in Switzerland. The president suggested that the U.S. may take over the strait after Iran indicated that it was again closed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe may take over the strait, if we have to,\u201d Trump told Fox News on Sunday. \u201cI\u2019ll blow the s\u2014 out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n