Topline
The U.S. deal to end the war in Iran was widely panned across the political spectrum as heavily favorable to Iran, with critics saying the deal leaves the regime more powerful than it was before the war—but some Republicans have begun voicing tentative support, saying it’s better than continuing the unpopular war just months from the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
The text of the so-called memorandum of understanding, signed by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian overnight Wednesday, is light on details and leaves many important aspects—such as the fate of Iran’s nuclear program—to a second round of negotiations over a 60-day period after the initial agreement is signed.
Among the immediate and most impactful provisions, the U.S. will lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran will use “its best efforts” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls “for 60 days only.”
The deal gives Iran access to $300 billion in private funds toward investments in Iran, including the rebuilding of its infrastructure.
The U.S. Treasury Department would issue immediate waivers on exports of Iranian oil, and has committed to lifting sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets in foreign accounts in a final agreement.
Republican War Supporters Who Back Trump’s Deal
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted Wednesday the agreement “will be beneficial to the United States, in as much as the Strait of Hormuz will begin to open, and the hostilities with Iran will stop,” after previously expressing reservations about offering Iran any concessions. He said whether the U.S. can reach an “acceptable, verifiable deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program and other issues is yet to be determined, but I see little downside to trying.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Semafor the deal recognizes “reality and oftentimes that’s not fun to do.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said the agreement is better than sending in ground troops: “that would be terrible, so this is better,” he told Semafor.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, echoed Trump in telling CNN on Wednesday that the U.S. couldn’t force Iran to give up all of its ballistic missiles, after Trump acknowledged Wednesday its stockpile hasn’t been depleted by the U.S. military, contradicting repeated previous claims from the administration. Marshall said “I prefer that they not [have missiles],” but “they have to be able to defend themselves,” adding that “you’re never going to get them short of boots on the ground of surrendering everything.”
Critics Who Say Trump’s Deal ‘The Least Bad Exit’
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told Fox Business on Thursday, “I actually support the agreement and bringing the war to an end,” but that it’s “not as good as” the Obama-era agreement with Iran.
Robert Malley, the lead negotiator on the Obama-era Iran deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) said Trump’s deal is “far preferable to any of the alternatives on offer,” adding, “I don’t see much value in comparing the MOU and the JCPOA. They are fundamentally different agreements that emerged from starkly different contexts.”
The Financial Times editorial board called the agreement “the least bad exit from Trump’s war of choice” and “a welcome step that should at least put a lid on Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice.”
Criticism From The Right: ‘Utterly Indefensible’
Calling Trump’s handling of the conflict “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., tweeted Wednesday, “Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz now works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.” Cassidy lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger last month.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Semafor he’s “concerned about” the agreement, adding, “I’ve heard it described as an intermission, unfortunately leaving Iran with the capability to rebuild its arsenal and continue enriching uranium.” (Trump, after claiming before the agreement was made public that Iran would allow the U.S. to extract its uranium, downplayed Iran’s enrichment program, telling reporters Wednesday “it’s not actually valuable” and is buried deep underground.)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on his podcast Wednesday that it’s an “incredibly foolish idea” and “utterly indefensible” to give Iran $300 billion, and told Semafor in an article published Thursday “it’s fair to say” he’s not a fan of the agreement.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, expressed support for the war initially, but said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, the deal is “much bigger than a mistake,” adding that he’s particularly concerned about “these immediate concessions, particularly sanctions wavered right out of the gate.”
Conservative podcaster and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, who supported Trump’s attacks on Iran, told Fox News on Wednesday the agreement appears to be a “disaster that does not achieve any of the actual goals set by the administration at the beginning,” including eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, requiring Iran to end support of terrorist groups and open the Strait of Hormuz toll-free, and leaving U.S. sanctions against Iran in place until it makes progress to meet its end of the agreement.
New York Times neoconservative columnist Bret Stephens, who supported the war initially, wrote that the “hard men of Tehran appear to have scored a decisive victory over the vain man of Washington,” accusing Trump of betraying Israel, the Iranian people and Americans who supported the war, and calling the deal “a debacle.”
Trump ally Steve Bannon said on his podcast “we can’t get in the business of giving these guys all this money and giving them access. We got the sanctions, keep the sanctions on, don’t let them sell any oil, don’t put in $300 billion or let anybody do it . . . I think we’re looking at this cockeyed, we shouldn’t be doing anything for these people.”
Criticism From the Left: ‘Paying Iran Billions’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told MeidasTouch Wednesday that Iran would “end up in much better financial shape than they were on the other side of it. I’m still waiting for the part that explains how the American people are better off.”
Former Obama administration spokesperson and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor said Tuesday the outcome has left Israel “completely isolated and dependent on Trump’s mood on any given day,” as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is not involved in the deal and has made clear he’s disappointed with the outcome, particularly the requirement to end Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters Tuesday, reports about the deal suggest “that it is a pretty simple transaction: we are paying Iran billions to reopen the Strait. Period.”
Other Reactions
Fox New host Brian Kilmeade said Wednesday “it doesn’t look like Iran has been brought to its knees . . . at this moment, it seems like Iran got a lot out of it that many people weren’t expecting.”
Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, and Firas Maksad, managing director for Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group, said the deal is “Trump’s most consequential foreign policy mistake” in a column Wednesday for Foreign Affairs. “Its likely terms fall far short of what Washington hoped the war would achieve,” they wrote. “Iran has emerged from the conflict battered but in a stronger strategic position, with its regime and its ability to threaten the region intact.” The outcome, they said, “is the greatest foreign policy failure of both of Trump’s terms.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board criticized the deal for requiring Iran to reopen the strait without tolls only for 60 days, noting “this means Iran may charge tolls after 60 days. Or at least President Trump couldn’t get it to commit otherwise.”
Amrita Sen, founder of Energy Aspects market insight firm told CNBC, “I think it is fair to say, at least what has been given to us in terms of the 14-point plain, the language is quite favorable or heavily favorable towards Iran.”
Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, argued the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will “shift pressure away from the United States and onto Iran—putting Washington in a better position to demand the very concessions that critics suggest Mr. Trump should have obtained from this war in the first place,” he wrote in the New York Times.
Trump’s Defense
Trump fired back at his critics in a Truth Social post early Thursday, writing “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.” Trump insisted Wednesday on the sidelines of the G7 conference in France the deal “achieves everything we set out to accomplish and much more,” including “preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon—that’s what it was all about, that was about 99%,” he said. Trump said part of the reason he agreed to the deal was because he “didn’t want to see economic catastrophe.” Trump defended allowing Iran to keep some of its ballistic missiles, despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claiming repeatedly those weapons had been destroyed. Trump said, “I mean, they have to have some, because other people have some.” Earlier Wednesday, Trump left open the possibility the agreement could fall apart amid the backlash, telling reporters on the sidelines of the G7 conference, “you never know with deals, but you’re going to find out pretty soon . . . I think it’ll be done, they want to sign.”
Tangent
Pope Leo XIV praised the agreement as “an encouraging result of patient work in dialogue and negotiation,” but stopped short of saying it’s a good deal for either side in a post on X Wednesday.
further reading
Iran Buys 20 Russian Helicopters After U.S. Peace Deal (Forbes)
Trump Says Iran Peace Deal ‘Complete’—Ends Strait Of Hormuz Blockade (Forbes)