52 Senators and 177 Representatives Write Trump: Any Iran Deal Must Require Complete Elimination of Uranium Enrichment — Day 76

Led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and House Republican Study Committee Chair Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), 52 Republican senators and 177 Republican House members sent a letter to President Trump on May 14, 2026 (Day 76) demanding that any Iran nuclear agreement must require Tehran to give up ALL uranium enrichment capacity — including for civilian energy purposes. The letter was signed by every GOP senator except libertarian-minded Rand Paul (R-KY). The letter states that no agreement should leave open any path to nuclear weapons and that Iran must give up its uranium enrichment capacity entirely. The congressional letter substantially narrows Trump's negotiating latitude: even the Obama-era JCPOA (from which Trump withdrew in 2018) allowed Iran limited enrichment; the congressional signatories are demanding a more restrictive deal than any previously negotiated. If Trump accepts any deal that includes even restricted civilian enrichment, he would immediately face pushback from almost his entire Senate Republican conference. The letter further deepens the structural divide with Iran: Tehran has offered approximately 5 years of enrichment limits as its maximum concession and has categorically refused to permanently dismantle its enrichment program. The 52-senator letter came the same day as Trump-Xi summit Hormuz/nuclear agreements and Vance's 'progress' statement — signaling rising congressional pressure on Trump to achieve a comprehensive rather than incremental deal.