Vice President JD Vance argued that the White House can lift oil sanctions against Iran without the approval of Congress, as Republicans express concern over the economic relief listed in a newly signed peace deal.
“We actually have an opinion from OLC that we feel quite confident about that,” Vance said in a Thursday press briefing, referring to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.
The sanctions relief is just one element that has sparked criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and Vance was asked to address questions about whether oil waivers, listed as part of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, comply with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
“There are certain things that require congressional approval, there are certain things that don’t require congressional approval,” Vance added. “We feel quite confident that we can temporarily lift those sanctions without going to Congress and seeking their approval on that.”
The vice president also teased a future briefing with congressional leaders and said he’s been in touch with James Braid, White House director of legislative affairs. Lawmakers had complained that they had not seen the 14-point agreement before Trump signed the deal while in France to attend the G7 summit on Wednesday.
“We do plan to brief Congress very soon,” he said. “I believe that they got the formal copy of the signed document this morning, and if not, they’re going to get it some point later today.”
The House is out of session until next week, which could delay Iran-related briefings, Vance suggested. He did not give a specific timeline for when the briefings will take place.
“But we’re going to ensure that the team briefs Congress, of course, answers their questions,” he added. “We’ve been doing that informally, of course, talking to a number of people in Congress just over the last week. We’ll keep on doing that, and we’ll have a formal briefing.”
Senate leadership, in particular, told the press this week that they were not given a copy of the memorandum, despite requesting it ahead of the signing.
READ IN FULL: THE 14-POINT PEACE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN
Apart from the oil waivers, which critics argue could give Iran a windfall to finance proxies in the region, lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the $300 billion in reconstruction funding that countries in the region would provide Iran as part of the deal.
“The $300 billion fund for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran – though not funded by U.S. taxpayers – would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison,” Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) said in a statement Thursday.