A former Trump official, Dan Brouillette, has expressed concerns that the US-Iran framework agreement is too generous to Iran. In an interview, Brouillette stated that the deal is ‘enormously helpful’ to Iran, allowing the country to restart its economy by selling oil and fuel.
Concerns Over the Deal
Brouillette, who served as US energy secretary between 2019 and 2021, noted that the US blockade of Iran was effective in forcing Tehran to the negotiating table. However, he expressed concern that the US-Iran agreement gives Iran ‘certain things up front,’ such as the right to immediately sell oil, which could generate $60 billion a year for the country.
Brouillette also noted that in the past, Iran used its financial resources to ‘fund organizations that were adversarial to their neighbors in the region, as well as to the United States.’ He emphasized the need to monitor Iran’s actions and ensure that the country does not return to funding proxies around the world.
Performance-Based Framework
US officials have stressed that the framework is performance-based, and Iran’s new ability to sell oil could be rolled back if negotiations are not productive. Vice President JD Vance stated that ‘as they dial up their good behavior, we can dial up the economic relief. If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.’
Brouillette emphasized that he is not at the negotiating table with Iran and is only looking at the situation from the ‘cheap seats.’ He suggested that he would have waited on some of the terms in the agreement and would have liked to see more performance from Iran before releasing sanctioned funds or creating a new fund for the rebuilding of Iran.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.