Bipartisan Congressional Pressure on Biden to Prevent ‘Bad Deal’ with Iran

US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
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Bipartisan Congressional Pressure on Biden to Prevent ‘Bad Deal’ with Iran

US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden boards the plane upon his return to the White House at San Francisco International Airport. (AFP)

In light of the increasing momentum to revive negotiations between Western capitals and Tehran over the Iranian nuclear program, 26 Democratic and Republican senators have intensified pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration to prevent it from hastily concluding an agreement they fear could be “bad.”

This comes simultaneously with reports of the European-Iranian talks entering a phase of addressing contentious issues related to uranium enrichment levels and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

These developments coincided with the approval of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US House of Representatives on a bill that abolishes the so-called “sunset clause” on sanctions imposed since 1996, replacing it with “permanent sanctions” on Iran in order to prevent it from producing any nuclear weapons.

In other news, CNN, quoting a source who requested anonymity, reported on a two-day discussion in Doha between European Union diplomat Enrique Mora and the Iranian top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri-Kani.

Talks focused on key sticking points, including nuclear enrichment levels and Iranian cooperation with the IAEA, the diplomatic source, who was briefed on the matter, told CNN.

Additionally, the source said the talks appear to be “leading to positive developments on many issues.”

“The current environment has been positive for de-escalation,” added the source.

Mora on Twitter described the talks as “intense,” and Kani tweeted earlier that the two had a “serious and constructive meeting on a range of issues, including “negotiations on sanctions lifting” – a key priority for Tehran.

The meeting came a week after Kani met with officials from the signatories to the deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – France, Germany and the UK.

US and Iranian parties resumed indirect talks late last year, with senior US official Brett McGurk traveling multiple times to Oman for indirect discussions with representatives of the Iranian government.

The Biden administration hopes to achieve at least three demands in these negotiations: curtailing Iran’s nuclear program in the field of atomic weapons development, ceasing attacks by the Iranian proxies against US forces in Syria, and releasing three long-held American prisoners in Iran.

As more signs show renewed contacts between Iran and the West, the 26 senators asked Biden not to rush into a bad agreement.

They expressed their concern over reports that the administration is trying to reach a limited nuclear deal with Iran, which it apparently intends to keep out of the US Congress by not signing a formal document.

“It is crucial for your administration to remain aligned with Congressional efforts related to Iran’s nuclear program and not agree to a pact that fails to achieve our nation’s critical interests,” the letter said.



Trump Proclaims Himself ‘In Good Shape,’ but the Results of His Physical Aren’t Immediately Released

US President Donald Trump looks on while walking to his vehicle upon arrival at Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, US, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump looks on while walking to his vehicle upon arrival at Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, US, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Proclaims Himself ‘In Good Shape,’ but the Results of His Physical Aren’t Immediately Released

US President Donald Trump looks on while walking to his vehicle upon arrival at Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, US, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump looks on while walking to his vehicle upon arrival at Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida, US, April 11, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump had an annual physical Friday and concluded, "I did well," praising his own heart, soul and cognitive ability while noting medical reports from White House doctors may not be ready until the weekend.

The 78-year-old, who in January became the oldest in US history to be sworn in as president, spent nearly five hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center undergoing what he called "every test you can imagine."

"I was there for a long time," Trump said. "I think I did very well."

Despite long questioning predecessor Joe Biden’s physical and mental capacity, Trump has routinely kept basic facts about his own health shrouded in secrecy — shying away from traditional presidential transparency on medical issues. He said he believes the doctor's report on his latest physical would be ready on Sunday — though, if history is any indication, that may offer little more than flattery with scarce detail.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said while Trump was still being examined that a "readout from the White House physician" on his health that would be released "as soon as we possibly can" and suggested it’d be comprehensive.

Trump went straight from the examination to Air Force One to fly to Florida for the weekend. Speaking to reporters midflight, he said doctors offered him "a little bit" of advice on lifestyle changes that could improve his health, though he didn't elaborate on what that was.

"Overall, I felt I was in very good shape. A good heart, a good soul, a very good soul," Trump said. He also noted that he took a cognitive test. "I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right," he said.

He said undergoing mental acuity screening was "what the American people want" and took another shot at his predecessor, saying, "Biden refused to take it."

The finished medical report would be the first public information on Trump's health since an assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

Rather than release medical records at that time, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson — a staunch supporter who served as his White House physician and once joked in the White House briefing room that Trump could live to be 200 if he had a healthier diet — wrote a memo describing a gunshot wound to Trump’s right ear.

In a subsequent interview with CBS last August, Trump said he’d "very gladly" release his medical records, but never did.

Trump is three years younger than Biden. But on Inauguration Day of his second term in January, Trump was five months older than Biden was during his 2021 inauguration — making Trump the nation's oldest president to be sworn into office.

Presidents have privacy rights protecting their medical records just like ordinary citizens, and that means they have leeway over what details are released. Modern annual physicals, though, have often played key roles in offering the public a sense of the commander-in-chief's health.

Trump has long opted for offering few substantive details about his health. Before Jackson's memo, the public hadn't seen key details since November 2023, when Dr. Bruce A. Aronwald released a letter to coincide with Biden's 81st birthday, saying Trump was in "excellent" physical and mental health.

The letter, posted on Trump’s social media platform, lacks the basics — such as the Republican's weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, or the results of any test. Instead, Aronwald wrote that he'd examined Trump that fall and found his "physical exams were well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional," while also noting that Trump had "reduced his weight."

Trump was treated at Walter Reed, located in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, for his serious bout with the coronavirus in 2020. During that time, Trump’s physician offered a rosy prognosis on his condition, though White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said some of Trump’s vital signs were "very concerning."

After Trump recovered, more details emerged that he had been sicker than he'd let on.

In November 2019, meanwhile, Trump's trip to Walter Reed for a physical was omitted from his public schedule, breaking the White House protocol of giving advance public notice of them.

The visit was revealed three days later, with Trump disclosing that he'd had a "very routine physical." The White House released a subsequent statement from the president’s then-personal physician, US Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley, saying it had been a "planned interim checkup" kept "off the record" due to scheduling uncertainties.

Arguably, Trump's most famous past comments about his own health came during a television interview in July 2020, when he listed off "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV" while attempting to demonstrate his cognitive abilities.

Trump said that a collection of those five nouns, or ones like them, stated in order, demonstrated mental fitness and were part of a cognitive test he had aced. The president was asked about that test again on Air Force One on Friday and responded, "It’s a pretty well known test."

"Whatever it is, I got every one — I got it all right," he said.