Senate lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns over Trump's plan to end Iran war

(16 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++ ASSOCIATED PRESS Washington, DC - 16 June 2026 1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. John Kennedy, (R) Louisiana: "If there is a final deal, and I hope there is, it should come to the Senate for approval. But we won't know that for 90 days... We've got to see meaningful, real steps by Iran. Iran is run by religious zealots. They learn to lie before they learn to talk, and you can't trust them." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Tim Kaine, (D) Virginia: "60 days is tight, but again, an off-ramp to a war that was illegal and never should have started is something that we should feel good about, and then we just hope that our negotiators get a good deal and they'll have to bring it back to Congress, pursuant to the INARA (Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act) bill that I helped write." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Lindsay Graham, (R) South Carolina: "I'm confident that President Trump won't sign a bad deal. The MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), as described by the Vice President and the administration, seems very promising. Iranian media reports about the deal seem concerning. Once the MOU has actually been released, we can all look at it. I think that will be helpful. The President is committed to doing that. He's committed to sending it to Congress. I'd like to have a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions. My skepticism is Iran itself. What would a good deal look like? No enrichment, and we'll see if we can get there. But at the end of the day, we're opening up the Strait (of Hormuz), and we're stopping hostilities is a success of its own, but whether or not we can hit phase two, I don't know. I appreciate the president for trying to get a diplomatic solution. So we'll, we'll see." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Eric Schmitt, (R) Missouri: "I've been hopeful that the ceasefire would lead to peace. And I just think some people are rooting for this to fail. And I think that's sad. I think there's some people that want us to lose. And I think for some people that want a forever war. The President said they want either one of those things or neither do I." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, (D) Connecticut: "We're back to where we were before the war began, except we're in a weaker position, and Iran seems stronger. But here are some certainties. The President must come to Congress, which he has failed to do, either for the war or if he wants a peace agreement. He has to come to the Congress. And the secrecy is absolutely striking, plus the conflicting reports about what the peace agreement actually provides. The Iranians say that they're going to be receiving hundreds of billions of dollars in unfrozen assets, which then they could use to support Hezbollah or the proxies, or rebuild their nuclear program." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Richard Blumenthal, (D) Connecticut: "I think this peace agreement could well be a surrender, in effect, and the president is very reluctant to make it public. He wants to keep it secret as long as possible. So that he can frame perception and potentially deceive people about what's in it, so I'm very concerned." ++EDIT ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++ STORYLINE: Senate lawmakers from both parties expressed concerns on Tuesday regarding whether President Donald Trump has achieved his objectives in the conflict with Iran. This uncertainty comes despite the details of an initial agreement being unclear and ongoing negotiations about Tehran's nuclear program. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...