“This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, wrote that on X after the White House sent Congress the text of President Donald Trump’s interim deal with Iran on Thursday, a day after Trump signed it.
Cassidy was not alone. Another Republican senator said some reported provisions looked “ill-advised,” and conservative commentators broke with the president too. Democrats have also criticized the pact. The pushback was a rare one for a party that has mostly stayed loyal to Trump, and it came as the economic fallout of the Iran conflict weighs on Republican prospects in November’s midterm elections.
Lawmakers from both parties say they want more information. By Thursday, no briefings on the deal or the administration’s plans had been scheduled.
What the critics say
The sharpest complaints concern reports that the administration agreed to release frozen Iranian assets, allow a $300 billion private wealth fund and ease sanctions. Critics argue the memorandum hands Iran major benefits in return for things the United States already had: an open Strait of Hormuz and a promise not to build a nuclear weapon.
Cassidy said Iran’s nuclear ambitions “were not curbed” and that Tehran “learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future.” Before the war, he noted, the strait was open and Iran faced steep sanctions. “Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions at the pump, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.”
Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he feared the deal “negotiates away” American military gains. He opposed lifting sanctions “in exchange for Iran’s mere agreement to negotiate for another 60 days.”
Ben Shapiro called the memorandum a “disaster” on Fox News, though he put the blame on Vice President J.D. Vance for backing it. It “does not achieve any of the actual signal goals that were set by the administration,” Shapiro said. Fellow Fox News commentator Mark Levin went after Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas for suggesting Iran keep defensive ballistic missiles. “This man should never be elected dogcatcher,” Levin wrote, calling the exclusion of missiles from the deal an “outrage.”
Days earlier, Erick Erickson had written on X that “Trump surrendered to Iran.” Levin had asked on June 15 why the public could not see the text: “Why can’t we see the damn MOU?” Axios reported that hard-liners in the United States and Israel wanted clearer answers on what Iran gains and what happens if nuclear talks fail.
Trump hits back
Trump answered his critics on social media. “These fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid,” he wrote.
Plenty of Republicans defended the agreement. Marshall, speaking on KCMO Radio, said Trump chose “a path to lasting peace – not another forever war.” He pointed to controls on how Iran spends the funds and said none of the money would come from U.S. taxpayers.
The timeline
Trump said he signed electronically on June 14, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Evian, France. He said the Strait of Hormuz was already partly reopened and would be fully open by June 19. Axios reported that a 60-day ceasefire extension took effect immediately. Vance described the document as “very rough” and about a page and a half long. He and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were set to sign in Geneva on June 19.
Axios also reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth voiced doubts before the announcement about whether Iran would follow through on nuclear commitments.
A 2015 law, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, requires Congress to review any deal involving Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief. The administration has given mixed signals on whether it will comply. Several lawmakers, including Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, have said the deal must go to Capitol Hill.
