US Senator Ted Cruz said “deep state” staffers at the US State and Treasury departments were working to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal behind US President Donald Trump’s back, after reports of White House plans to renew civil-nuclear waivers for Tehran.

The US is set to announce this week that it will renew sanctions waivers for five Iran nuclear programs that allow Russia, China, and European countries to continue civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran, according to a Washington Post article published on Tuesday.

“I hope these reports turn out to be wrong. The president has correctly ordered his administration to halt implementation of the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal. These waivers are part of the deal, and allow the Ayatollahs to build up their nuclear program, including at Fordow, a bunker they dug into the side of a mountain so they could build nuclear weapons,” Senator Cruz said in a statement.

“If these reports are indeed accurate, then it is a temporary victory for the deep state staffers at Treasury and State who continue working tirelessly to preserve the Obama Iran deal rather than implementing the president’s directive. I will continue to work towards permanently ending the nuclear deal, including by exercising Congress’s important oversight responsibility to ensure the implementation of United States policy,” Cruz, who serves on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added.

The Washington Post report said Trump, in an Oval Office meeting last week, sided with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who argued for renewing the waivers over objections by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.

(With Reuters)

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52