Joel Rayburn, the Trump administration’s nominee to be assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said at his confirmation hearing on Thursday that Iran should not be allowed to continue to enrich uranium in any capacity.

Rayburn said in his testimony that he agrees with positions articulated by various administration officials that Iran “does not need and should not have” a domestic nuclear enrichment program or reprocessing capacity in order to have domestic nuclear power or a medical research program. 

A robust verification system for any deal would be “essential,” Rayburn said, “because I think the Iranians have not operated in good faith in terms of the JCPOA and have exceeded limits that even were allowed under the JCPOA, as well as the rest of the pattern of their behavior since [the Iranian Revolution of] 1979. There has to be very stringent controls, oversight over whatever is agreed with them.”

Asked by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) whether reining in Iran’s proxy forces and ballistic missile program should be part of a nuclear deal, Rayburn said, “Both the president and others in the administration have mentioned that there will be a need for the Iranian regime to forego, to give up, its sponsorship of its militant proxy terrorist network … I think there’s also a general consensus on the need for the Iranian ballistic missile and UAV programs … to be restricted as well.”

His answer did not make entirely clear whether he believed those elements were necessary parts of a nuclear deal or should be addressed outside of it.

Rosen also pressed Rayburn on reports that the Trump administration was de-linking discussions about a nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia from Saudi normalization with Israel, which Rosen called a “momentous mistake.”

Rayburn said he does not have knowledge of the current talks, but characterized Saudi-Israeli normalization as inevitable in the near future. That’s at odds with recent reporting indicating that Saudi Arabia’s leaders are no longer interested in normalization in the near term.

“To my mind, just as a long-time analyst, observer of the region, I think normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is going to happen, it’s bound to happen because it makes so much sense. The logic is so strong for both sides, for the surrounding region and for the United States,” Rayburn said. “I have confidence that there can be a diplomatic path forward to making that happen in the not too distant future.”

Throughout the Middle East, Rayburn said he sees opportunities to end a series of long-running conflicts, including in Syria and Lebanon.

He characterized the removal of sanctions on Syria as a “golden opportunity” for the country to rebuild and set a new course. He said the U.S. has numerous expectations of Syria in exchange for the sanctions relief President Donald Trump announced this week, including normalizing relations with Israel, deporting Palestinian terrorists, expelling other foreign terrorist fighters, cooperating with international counter-ISIS operations and taking over jurisdiction of detention centers holding ISIS fighters in northern Syria.

Rayburn was the U.S. special envoy for Syria during the latter part of the first Trump administration. Prior to that, he held senior Middle East roles on the National Security Council.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, acknowledged that Trump had released sanctions “a little more robustly than we had in mind” — Risch had urged an approach of phased and conditioned sanctions relief, but praised Trump’s decision — though he said they can still be re-imposed if Syria’s government fails to live up to U.S. expectations.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member, questioned Rayburn over rumors that the administration had discussed assassinating Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. He responded that such a proposal is not consistent with Trump’s view of al-Sharaa as articulated this week, following their direct meeting.

Pressed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rayburn denied any knowledge of alleged efforts in the first Trump administration to obscure from Trump the level of U.S. troop presence inside Syria.

He said the U.S. also seeks to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, bring home the hostages and ensure Hamas is no longer a “significant military threat” or a governing entity in Gaza. The Israeli government, meanwhile, recently laid out plans for significantly expanding and lengthening its operations in Gaza.

Rayburn characterized the degrading of Hezbollah and the new Lebanese government as a “golden opportunity” in Lebanon, adding that the U.S. is working with the Lebanese government and Lebanese Armed Forces to stabilize the country and enforce the terms of the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

With regard to the Gulf, Rayburn characterized a major goal of the Trump administration as expanding U.S. relationships “from security to prosperity” — as has been seen on Trump’s ongoing trip, where major business investments have been a primary focus.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) offered a sharp critique of Qatar during the hearing, saying that its offer of a luxury Boeing 747 jet to President Donald Trump for use as Air Force One, to later be transferred to his presidential library, was a mistake that could jeopardize its longer-term relationship with the United States. He urged Doha to modify the offer such that the jet would not be transferred to Trump’s library at the end of his term.

“Qatar is badly damaging any reputation [they] have for credibility on the Hill by making that offer,” Kaine said. 

Addressing Qatar, he continued, “By doing that, you will lead us to question your motivations for a very long time. You will damage the reputation — and let’s be honest, Qatar has done a number of things that the U.S. has viewed as positive … but Qatar has also done a number of things that cause members of this committee, based on previous statements, grave concern including harboring Hamas leaders in Qatar.”

“If Qatar wants a long-term relationship with all branches of the United States government, you are about to commit a grievous error that is likely to be a permanent stain on your ethical record and you should reconsider it,” he concluded.