Durbin Calls For Transparency Of The Trump Administration’s Preliminary Deal With Iran

June 15, 2026 Durbin Calls For Transparency Of The Trump Administration’s Preliminary Deal With Iran Durbin: “The current loose framework stunningly avoids critical issues related to Iran’s nuclear program… did we really start a war to return to the same deal Trump abandoned during his first term as President?” WASHINGTON – After the Trump Administration announced a preliminary deal to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted holes in the framework in a speech on the Senate floor, including those that fail to address critical issues related to Iran’s nuclear program and Iran’s support for terrorist proxies. Durbin said, “While I am glad that we might be seeing an end to the hostilities, I am deeply concerned about what might be in that agreement. What was announced was only an end to the fighting, Iran’s stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. blockade, moves that return us to the status quo before the President’s invasion of Iran over 100 days ago. In fact, after months of being promised an imminent deal by President Trump, the current loose framework stunningly avoids critical issues related to Iran’s nuclear program… And from what is being reported, the terms sound very familiar to the Iran nuclear agreement negotiated under President Obama and the Iranian people before the election of Donald Trump—the JCPOA.” Durbin continued, “Let me be clear, Iran, its proxies, and its nuclear program are all threats to the U.S. and its allies… but did we really start a war to return to the same deal Trump abandoned during his first term as President?” While Republicans have stated the Obama-era deal is “weak” compared to what Trump is negotiating, Durbin laid out President Obama’s deal with Iran which severely restricted Iran’s enrichment capabilities, notably extending nuclear weapon breakout time. It also included some of the most intrusive inspections ever agreed to. Durbin hosted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General a number of times after the agreement was implemented, who said at the time the inspections, while sometimes difficult, were working, and that Iran was in compliance. “The deal included the backing of the P5+1 nations under President Obama... [including] Russia and China. Today, we stand alone in our negotiations with Iran. And the Obama-agreement included the specific wording which said: ‘Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.’ So, it sounds to me, even under the best-case scenario in which all enriched uranium, the most dangerous of which was developed after Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, is removed from Iran, we are simply moving toward the same agreement all over again,” Durbin said. “I sure hope my Republican colleagues who so loudly objected to the JCPOA will scrutinize Trump’s deal with the same zeal. And they will have just that opportunity because we passed a measure during the early Obama negotiations called the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act— bipartisan legislation that passed overwhelmingly in 2015—which will apply to any new agreement with Iran,” said Durbin. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act requires the Administration to submit to Congress within five days any agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, after which the foreign relations committees will hold hearings, and then Congress can vote to approve or disapprove the deal. Durbin concluded, “So, I look forward to a close look at what the final deal looks like. And if predicted, it is similar to what Trump abandoned, we have to ask ourselves if this war was really worth the American [service members’] lives or cost?” Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here . Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here . Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations. -30- Print Email Share Tweet