Trump 'Surrenders' to Iran! US in Turmoil, Allied Party Furious
A temporary memorandum of understanding (MoU) brokered by United States President Donald Trump with the Iranian government has drawn fierce condemnation from within his own party. Several Republican politicians believe the agreement merely wastes a staggering amount of money without imposing strong limits on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Citing Al Jazeera on Thursday (18/6/2026), the draft document containing 14 main points includes a commitment from both sides to permanently cease military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon. In return, Tehran agreed to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington committed to drafting a reconstruction and development aid plan for Iran worth US$300 billion, or approximately Rp5,340 trillion.
This injection of post-war economic recovery funds immediately sparked massive rejection from senior senators, who viewed it as excessively indulgent towards the enemy. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana openly criticised the deal, calling it the most flawed and shameful product of diplomacy. “Former President Ronald Reagan must be turning in his grave seeing this. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are not curbed at all, and they have now learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works, and they will certainly use it as a bargaining chip again in the future,” Cassidy lambasted via his X account regarding the weakness of the draft agreement.
Similar criticism came from Kentucky Senator Thomas Massie, who highlighted the irrationality of the aid value. Massie claimed that the total US$300 billion aid budget is equivalent to five times the annual budget Congress allocates for domestic road and bridge construction.
Former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, also questioned Trump’s unilateral decision, viewing it as a severe compromise with a regime that has historically targeted American citizens. Haley reminded the public of Tehran’s track record of funding radical militias and attempting assassination operations against US troops and civilians. “This regime chants ‘Death to America,’ killed our troops, and tried to murder American citizens on US soil. They believe it is their duty to destroy us. Now we plan to open billions of dollars and lift sanctions, with promises of even more money,” Haley mocked via platform X.
Trump’s political compromise has also triggered unfavourable comparisons to the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal drafted under Barack Obama, which Trump himself had previously torn up. Former Vice President Mike Pence assessed that Trump’s current MoU scheme shows signs of a shameful appeasement towards Iran’s demands. “The US should pursue an agreement that requires Iran to dismantle its nuclear programme, dismantle its missile programme, end support for terrorist proxies, and open the strait. If that fails, we should let our Armed Forces finish the job on our terms,” Pence insisted via his X account, urging a final military option.
Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ted Cruz attempted to defend Trump’s policy from skewed comparisons with the Obama era, although he himself firmly rejected the clause providing financial aid to the Persian state. Cruz urged the president not to squander the momentum of victory on the battlefield after the US military successfully crippled Iran’s defence forces, stressing that Washington has absolutely no moral obligation to finance the reconstruction of the enemy’s infrastructure.