Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) called out Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s comments earlier this week suggesting that the U.S. could allow Iran to retain some nuclear enrichment capacity in a letter sent directly to Witkoff on Wednesday.

Lawler’s letter comes after Witkoff publicly walked back those comments, but is the most direct and open rebuke of Witkoff’s original remarks from a GOP lawmaker thus far. Other Republicans have implicitly distanced themselves from Witkoff’s comments and praised his reversal on Tuesday.

“I write today to express concern with any attempt to broker a deal with Iran that fails to fully dismantle its nuclear program,” Lawler said, insisting that the U.S. maintain a requirement of full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear enrichment and weapons program. “I urge you to steadfastly uphold this position as a redline for any future agreement with the Iranian regime on behalf of the United States.”

Lawler, who leads the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee, specifically cited Witkoff’s Monday comments on Fox News, during which Witkoff indicated that the U.S. could allow Iran to enrich uranium up to 3.67% and implement a verification regime to monitor the nuclear program.

“This idea is all too familiar and calls back to President Obama’s Iran Deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which allowed for similar enrichment levels as well as monitoring and verification provisions,” Lawler continued. “Plain and simple, the JCPOA was a disaster. And any revert back to a similar deal will have the same detrimental effects.”

Witkoff’s original comments came shortly after talks between the U.S. and Iran began in Oman last weekend, where Witkoff spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the highest level direct dialogue between the two countries in years. Talks are set to continue this weekend.

Lawler directly linked the JCPOA to the wave of Iranian proxy attacks currently ongoing in the Middle East and said that Iran can’t be trusted with any enrichment capabilities. He said the Trump administration’s policies inherently demand the full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and comprehensive sanctions on the regime and its affiliates.

“Anything less would be appeasement and a betrayal to U.S. national security interests and the security of our partners in the region, like Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Lawler concluded.  “As you continue to negotiate with the regime, I urge you to keep these points in mind. A return to the JCPOA or a similar arrangement will both hurt our long-term goals in the Middle East and enable the Iranian regime to further develop and fund its malign activities. The stakes could not be higher.”