Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Jun 19: Senior Democratic Senator Mark Warner has criticised President Donald Trump's newly signed agreement with Iran, arguing that it leaves several critical security issues unresolved while offering Tehran substantial economic relief.

Speaking to reporters, Warner said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed a day earlier had failed to achieve many of the objectives the administration initially set out during the conflict.

“We are 111 days into this war, and America is not better off. Our people are not better off, and our economy is not better off,” Warner said.

The Virginia senator, who serves as Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus and Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, argued that Iran had emerged from the confrontation in a stronger position than many expected.

“Iran took on both the United States and Israel and, in many ways, managed to come out of it without a clear defeat. We may end up paying the price for this for a long time,” he said.

Warner questioned the significance of the agreement’s commitment that Iran would not pursue nuclear weapons, saying it merely reiterated a position Tehran has publicly maintained for years.

“That has essentially been Iran’s stated position for the past 15 to 20 years. There is nothing fundamentally new in that commitment,” he said.

He also criticised the absence of any provisions related to Iran’s ballistic missile programme, which had been one of the Trump administration’s major concerns at the outset of the conflict.

“One of the administration’s stated goals was to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, yet the agreement does not even address missiles,” Warner said.

The senator further pointed to the inclusion of the Strait of Hormuz in the agreement but questioned its practical significance.

“The Strait of Hormuz was already open before the conflict began,” he remarked.

Warner also expressed concern that the memorandum makes no mention of Iran-backed armed groups operating across the Middle East, including Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi movement.

“We were told that limiting Iran’s regional proxies was one of the objectives. Yet this agreement does not address those organisations at all,” he said.

He warned that easing sanctions could provide the Iranian government with substantial financial resources.

“Lifting restrictions on Iranian oil exports could potentially generate tens of billions of dollars for the Iranian regime,” Warner said.

According to the senator, the agreement leaves unresolved the central issue that originally prompted the confrontation.

“We still have to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and now that question has effectively been deferred for another 60 days of negotiations,” he said.

Warner also raised concerns that the agreement could reduce pressure on Iran’s leadership at a time when the country has been experiencing domestic unrest.

He argued that the memorandum effectively limits future American involvement in Iran’s internal affairs, potentially weakening leverage over Tehran in the months ahead.