WASHINGTON, DC – US President Donald Trump is criticizing the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and the Iranian government to end the US-Israel war with Iran.
Friday’s statement was a continuation of President Trump’s defense of the end-of-war agreement launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, and came a day after U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance canceled a planned trip to Switzerland to begin negotiations on a number of deep-rooted issues outlined in the memorandum.
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The delay casts doubt on the deal’s survival, just one day after it was signed by both sides, as Israel’s continued fighting in Lebanon threatens to derail any diplomatic breakthrough.
In a series of posts on Truth Social on Friday, President Trump rejected criticism from Democrats and some Republicans that the memorandum only addressed issues raised by the conflict itself, arguing that it strengthened the U.S. government’s influence in the region.
These include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, and halting fighting on all fronts, ostensibly including Lebanon.
“The war has weakened Iran!” President Trump said, noting that the U.S. attack had weakened Iran’s navy, air force, and traditional military capabilities.
But it added that Democrats have said, “Iran is better now than it was four months ago. Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid are some people????”
In a second post, President Trump declared that Iran, not the United States, had entered the negotiations out of “despair,” adding, “They’re done!”
“We will make it to the end of the 60 days,” he said, apparently referring to the MOU’s negotiation period, during which Iran’s nuclear program, future control of the Strait of Hormuz, the release of Iran’s frozen assets, the lifting of all sanctions against Iran, and the development of a $300 billion plan to rebuild Iran were to be discussed.
President Trump calls for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’
President Trump also suggested in an on-camera interview with Axios News on Thursday that Iran’s signing of the MOU was “probably an unconditional surrender.”
He added that the war, which went unchecked by Congress, taught him that his power “has no limits.”
He also targeted a small number of Republican Iranian hardliners who have criticized the memorandum.
Among them was Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who criticized the deal’s immediate lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s fossil fuel industry, calling it a “step in the wrong direction.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Roger Wicker criticized both the $300 billion recovery fund planned for Iran, which President Trump insists will not be funded by U.S. taxpayers, and the pledge to halt fighting in Lebanon.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghai reiterated that Tehran holds the United States responsible for the attack on Lebanon, as Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets since midnight.
Shortly afterward, a U.S. official, two Hezbollah officials and an Israeli official told Reuters that a new ceasefire had been agreed in Lebanon.
A day earlier, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance issued a rare public rebuke to Israel amid an ongoing military operation, warning Israeli authorities not to attack “our only remaining strong ally in the entire world.”
In an interview with Axios, President Trump claimed that his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “good, but we need to keep him a little sane.”
