Former US Vice President Mike Pence criticized the reported memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, saying the terms 'reek of appeasement' reminiscent of the Obama and Biden administrations. Pence highlighted that the reported framework includes immediate sanctions relief of $3 billion per month, the release of $100 billion in frozen assets based solely on 'progress' in talks, and a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, with no requirement to dismantle Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence issued a sharp critique of the emerging U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding on Wednesday morning, warning that the reported terms echo what he called the failed appeasement policies of the Obama and Biden administrations.
Pence's statement, posted to his official channel at 06:56 Jerusalem, lists several provisions he says are included in the leaked framework: immediate sanctions relief of $3 billion per month upon signing; the release of $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets contingent only on "progress" in negotiations; and a $300 billion international reconstruction fund for Iran. He noted that the reported language makes no mention of dismantling Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missile program, or its support for proxy groups including Hamas and Hezbollah.
As The Zioneer reported at 06:20, journalist Asaf Rozentzweig (N12) published a 12-point draft of the MOU that included a cessation of hostilities, U.S. pledges to lift the naval blockade and impose no new sanctions during 60 days of talks, and a $300 billion reconstruction fund. A separate Israel Hayom report on Saturday cited a U.S. official outlining five principles that included the destruction of all enriched nuclear material — a condition Pence says is absent from the version circulating.
The former vice president drew a direct line between the current framework and what he described as the Obama-era approach that yielded the 2015 JCPOA, as well as the Biden administration's 2022 efforts, which he said were ignored by Tehran. Pence served as vice president in the Trump administration, which withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and pursued a maximum-pressure sanctions campaign.
3 developments
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- DevelopingFormer VP Pence reacts to Iran deal: 'It's much more than a mistake'
- StrongVance details economic incentives in US-Iran MOU: sanctions relief conditional on nuclear disarmament
- DevelopingPence calls for dismantling Iran's nuclear and missile programs, says Trump should let the military 'finish the job'
Source and signal
- Internal intake