Former Vice President Kamala Harris took an apparent shot at the Trump administration’s Iran deal, saying it could hurt Republicans in the midterm elections during a public appearance at a climate summit in Vienna on Tuesday.
“This is a war the American people did not want. This is a War of Choice. This is a president who has proven himself to be entirely self-indulgent. And we will see what happens in the coming hours and days in terms of the negotiation. And really, it’s a concept of an agreement,” said Harris at the Austrian World Summit hosted by the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative.
While Trump’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran has not been released, comparisons to former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal have reemerged. According to administration officials, the agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and require Iran to halt nuclear weapons development and support for terrorism.
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Harris has seized the moment to reignite a political fight over which approach did more to curb Iran’s ambitions.
“Whatever is being negotiated, this president is going to declare victory, and we’ll end up where we were after the JCPOA and call that a victory, the JPOA that he withdrew from,” said Harris.
Republicans are entering the November midterm elections amid concerns that many Americans continue to feel the strain of elevated gas and grocery prices. Trump administration officials have repeatedly emphasized that, under the MOU, consumers are expected to see relief at the gas pump beginning this summer.
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“There is a direct correlation between this war of choice and what has happened in terms of gas prices. It is estimated the average American has spent, since the war started, $500 more because of this war,” Harris said.
“I have no question or doubt that we will win the midterms, and it will be a result of people of every background and political association who will contribute to that outcome,” she added.
Oil prices fell on Monday to their lowest levels since early March after a preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement raised hopes that traffic through the Strait could soon return to normal.
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The agreement, soon to be released, would test whether Iran is willing to trade decades of isolation for economic relief and renewed ties with the West.
The deal hinges on whether Iran can demonstrate during a 60-day negotiating period that it has abandoned its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorist organizations.
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