JUST IN: Lankford Joins Meet the Press, Says Iran Must Dismantle Its Nuclear Program, Calls FISA Lapse “Incredibly Irresponsible”
Senator Lankford appeared om Meet The Press
JUST IN: Lankford Joins Meet the Press, Says Iran Must Dismantle Its Nuclear Program, Calls FISA Lapse “Incredibly Irresponsible”
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair and a member of the Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees, appeared on Meet the Press to discuss President Trump’s strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and the 2026 midterm elections.
Iran’s Nuclear Program and Negotiations
Lankford stressed that any potential agreement must fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities rather than merely delay them.
“Let’s wait and see what the deal actually is. That’s part of the challenge we have right now, is we have not seen the details of the actual agreement yet on this, but [the] President’s been very, very clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, cannot have a nuclear weapons program, and cannot keep that highly enriched uranium in the country.
“That is dramatically different than what President Barack Obama was negotiating years ago. When Barack Obama was negotiating, ‘You have to delay your nuclear program,’ President Trump says, ‘No, you can never have a nuclear program, you can’t have the stockpiles, you can’t have a program there,’ that makes an incredible difference for us.
“So, not having a nuclear program, not having a closed Strait of Hormuz, and not having a terrorist nation actually terrorize the rest of its neighbors and the United States would be a huge gain for us.”
Frozen Iranian Assets and Sanctions Relief
Addressing online speculation about a large financial package for Iran, Lankford said the administration has not floated such ideas.
“What’s been interesting is, I haven’t heard anyone from the administration float anything like that, that’s what’s floating around social media to be able to have this ‘giant fund for Iran.’
“What has actually been stated by the administration is folks like Treasury Secretary Bessent saying that, ‘The Iranian frozen funds should actually be used to help rebuild Kuwait, rebuild Jordan, rebuild the areas that Iran has attacked, and that any funds that would be unfrozen,’ that are Iranian funds that are being held by countries all in the region where Iran and its regime has hidden its money off, any of those funds could only be released if there was a change in behavior, not a change in a signature or words.
“They’ve got to be able to drop their terrorism, they’ve got to release all these nuclear ambitions that they have, and they’ve got to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
Congressional Review of an Iran Deal
Lankford argued that any lasting agreement should go through Congress.
“Yeah, it is best if it is ratified by Congress, it has a more lasting effect on it.
“Barack Obama’s nuclear deal was so bad when Joe Biden came in the White House, he did not reinstitute it. He had four years that he looks at it and said, ‘No, we’re not going to try to do the same deal that Barack Obama did on it.’ President Trump was right to tear that up.
“It [JCPOA] opened a pathway towards a nuclear weapon and just delayed it outside of the Obama presidency. That doesn’t help the American people long term.”
He added historical context: “I think people forget Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years. What President Trump is trying to do is to be able to end Iran’s constant attack of Americans and American assets and American allies in that region and coming at us. So to get an end to that is very, very significant.”
FISA Expiration and National Security
Lankford called the lapse of key FISA authorities “incredibly irresponsible” and said it has made the country less safe.
“100% it’s [FISA lapsing] made the country less safe. And this has been a frustrating thing for me. Democrats are mad at the President again, and so to stick the President, they’re actually putting American national security at risk.
“Now it’s literally during the World Cup, during this ongoing conflict in Iran with all the things that are happening around the world, with Al Qaeda continuing to try to find ways to be able to attack the United States, we have literally notified the entire world: ‘We’re no longer watching.’ That is incredibly irresponsible.
“We have one lesson from 9/11: we need to pay attention to people around the world when they mean to do us harm. They have the ability to be able to do us harm, and they’ve shown that clearly. Now, to be able to say we’re not going to watch, I think, is very irresponsible. So, let’s get that back on again.”
He also noted the nomination of Jay Clayton to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, saying Clayton has previously received wide bipartisan support through the confirmation process.
“This is absurd to be able to just close down FISA and to say, ‘We’re mad at the President, and so we’re just going to shut things down and not listen worldwide.’”
2026 Midterm Elections
Looking ahead to the midterms, Lankford contrasted current conditions with the previous administration.
“We’re talking about 4% inflation now, which is too high, but under the Biden administration, it was 9% inflation with the open borders, and what was happening with the crime that was happening. I think Americans, when they look side by side, they will see the dramatic difference.”
