Trump Sparks Republican Fury After Signing Iran MoU

President Donald Trump’s peace deal with Iran has drawn sharp criticism from a number of US Republican senators. They warn that the agreement falls far short of the major victory Trump promised and could leave Tehran richer, stronger, and still capable of threatening the region. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by Trump in France on Wednesday (17/6), aims to end the war, reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, and stabilise energy markets after the conflict triggered a spike in global oil prices. However, provisions within the MoU have alarmed some Republican members. They criticised Trump for what they described as offering Iran sanctions relief, access to oil markets, and the prospect of a US$300 billion reconstruction fund, while failing to secure firm commitments on uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles, or Tehran’s support for armed proxies. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called the deal ‘the worst foreign policy mistake in decades’. ‘Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was crippled by sanctions and 13 service members were alive,’ he wrote on social media platform X. ‘Now, 13 Americans are dead, families have paid billions more for gasoline, sanctions will be lifted, and the bombing has stopped.’ Roger Wicker, the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the MoU was ‘completely inconsistent’ with Trump’s objectives. He condemned the lifting of sanctions and the release of funds ‘in exchange for Iran’s agreement to negotiate for another 60 days’. ‘Specifically, the US$300 billion for reconstruction and economic development of Iran – though not funded by US taxpayers – will make the payouts to Iran under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like pocket change by comparison,’ he said in a statement, referring to the nuclear deal with Iran during President Barack Obama’s administration. Texas Senator John Cornyn told reporters he feared the deal might only be ‘a pause’, allowing Iran to rebuild its arsenal and continue enriching uranium. The Democratic Party was united in opposing the deal. They argued that Trump launched a costly war only to accept an agreement that largely restores the pre-war status quo while granting Tehran new leverage. ‘Everyone who bought Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal” should demand a refund because what Trump has done in Iran is “The Art of the Disaster”,’ Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer declared in a floor speech. Trump himself defended the deal as a practical way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global crude oil typically passes. He said the deal was not yet final and warned that the United States could resume strikes if negotiations fail.