RED ON RED: Congress Goes to War With Treasury Department Over Saving Iranian Financial Access. “Cruz bill gaining momentum as Iran hawks see Trump Treasury Dept. saving Iran’s banks.”

U.S. officials familiar with Congress’s effort to take the reins on tough new Iran sanctions ahead of a Nov. 4 snapback deadline have been battling with the Treasury Department over its efforts to allow Iran to remain connected to the SWIFT banking system, which facilitates cross-border transactions and has provided Iran with a key lifeline to the West.

Iran hawks on Capitol Hill are said to be frustrated over the Treasury Department’s efforts, telling the Washington Free Beacon that some officials in the Trump administration are walking back the president’s promise to reimpose a bevy of new sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal.

The Free Beacon first reported last week on the internal battle in the administration over the extent of sanctions and efforts by some European allies to pressure the United States into keeping Iran involved in the international marketplace.

While Trump and top officials such as National Security Adviser John Bolton have publicly advocated for a hardline on Iran, pressure from the Europeans appears to have worn down the Treasury Department, which first told the Free Beacon last week that Iran’s connection to SWIFT could remain intact.

Trump was ballsy enough to get us out of the lousy Iran Deal, but apparently failed to whip his own Treasury people into line. Followthrough counts, bigly.