By: Fern Sidman

In a coordinated and forceful show of opposition, a majority of congressional Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to reject any nuclear agreement with Iran that permits the Islamic Republic to continue enriching uranium—a move they say would undermine both U.S. national security and regional stability. According to a report that appeared on The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), two nearly identical letters were sent Wednesday to the White House from 51 Republican senators and 177 GOP members of the House of Representatives, emphasizing their unified stance on one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions facing the Trump administration.

The letters explicitly call on the president to ensure that any future agreement with Tehran results in the complete dismantling of its uranium enrichment program. “The scope and breadth of Iran’s nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium,” the letters declare. The JNS report noted that the signatories argued the United States cannot accept a deal that permits even low levels of enrichment, such as those used in civilian reactors, because of the Islamic Republic’s long history of duplicity and its dangerous proximity to weapons-grade capabilities.

The letters added that “The Iranian regime should know that the administration has congressional backing to ensure their ability to enrich uranium is, as you put it in your interview with ‘Meet the Press,’ ‘totally dismantled.’” This reference to Trump’s own words reflects congressional Republicans’ desire to keep the administration aligned with a hardline approach—one that would force Iran to fully relinquish its uranium enrichment activities and subject itself to robust, permanent inspections.

As the JNS report highlighted, the Senate letter was signed by all Republican senators except Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a noted non-interventionist who has frequently broken with his party on foreign policy. On the House side, 80% of the Republican caucus added their names, illustrating widespread support for a strict stance against Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The congressional letters come amid mixed messages from within the Trump administration about the contours of a potential agreement with Iran. JNS and other sources have noted that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, sparked confusion in April when he appeared to suggest during a Fox News interview that Iran might be allowed to enrich uranium to 3.67% purity—the limit set under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the Trump administration previously withdrew from in 2018.

The 3.67% enrichment level is generally considered acceptable for civilian nuclear power, but far below the 90% threshold needed for a nuclear weapon. Nonetheless, critics of the JCPOA—including many Republican lawmakers and Israeli officials—have long argued that even limited enrichment leaves Iran dangerously close to breakout capability, particularly given its expansive and advanced nuclear infrastructure, as per the JNS report.

Witkoff quickly walked back his comment on social media the following day, asserting that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment.” But the brief moment of ambiguity intensified scrutiny of the administration’s negotiating posture, especially in light of Axios’s report this week that the United States has presented Iran with a written proposal for a new nuclear deal.

Asked Wednesday whether Iran would be permitted to retain an enrichment capability under a future agreement, President Trump replied, “We haven’t made that decision yet.” His comments did little to assuage Republican lawmakers or Israeli security experts, many of whom continue to express concerns about what they view as a dangerous flirtation with compromise on enrichment.

Iranian officials have remained adamant that uranium enrichment is a sovereign right they will never abandon. As was noted in the JNS report, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state media on Saturday that “Enrichment is an issue that Iran will not give up, and there is no room for compromise on it.” However, he did suggest Tehran might be willing to “adjust” enrichment levels temporarily to allow for confidence-building during negotiations.

Still, the gulf between Iran’s position and that of congressional Republicans appears nearly insurmountable. The lawmakers’ letters to Trump stress that any agreement that falls short of total dismantlement of enrichment capabilities would represent a capitulation to a regime that has proven itself untrustworthy, violent, and aggressive both at home and abroad.

“Iran’s nuclear program has one purpose—to threaten Israel, dominate the region, and eventually strike at the United States,” said one congressional aide involved in drafting the letters, speaking to JNS on background. “Allowing them to enrich uranium, at any level, gives them the tools to achieve those goals. We need to deny them those tools entirely.”

Israel’s government remains deeply concerned about the possibility of a weakened U.S. position in nuclear talks. According to the information provided in the JNS report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long warned that any agreement which allows Iran to retain even a limited enrichment capacity is unacceptable and poses an existential threat to the Jewish state. Israeli officials are believed to be in close communication with U.S. negotiators and have reportedly conveyed intelligence regarding Iran’s continued nuclear advances, including covert activity that violates the spirit—if not the letter—of past nuclear agreements.

Netanyahu and his advisers are also closely watching the internal dynamics in Washington, knowing that bipartisan consensus on Iran has proven elusive in the past. However, the Republican letters—signed by a vast majority of the GOP—could serve as a political warning to the administration: any deal that allows enrichment may face stiff opposition in Congress and could be undone by future legislative action.

Despite the tensions and conflicting signals, diplomatic efforts continue. A fourth round of talks concluded recently in Oman, and JNS reported that both sides have agreed to another session in the coming weeks. Yet with Iran refusing to budge on enrichment and Republicans drawing a hard red line, the path toward a durable agreement remains narrow.

Still, President Trump appears determined to explore all diplomatic avenues. “We’re trying to find a peaceful way forward,” he said on Wednesday. “But it has to be a deal that protects our allies, prevents nuclear proliferation, and ensures Iran can never build a bomb.”

For now, GOP lawmakers are drawing their line in the sand—and urging the president to stand firm. “We support diplomacy,” their letters conclude, “but not at the cost of security, not at the cost of Israel, and not at the cost of American leadership.”