US President Donald Trump has lashed out at critics of a still-unfinished peace deal with Iran, saying negotiations with Tehran are proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner” but that he has instructed his representatives “not to rush” into an agreement.
Trump insisted that any deal reached by his administration would not resemble the Obama-era 2015 nuclear agreement, which he unilaterally abandoned during his first term and has described as “one of the worst deals ever made.”
“Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet,” he wrote on his social media network Truth Social on Sunday. “So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about.”
Multiple hardline Republicans have criticized the rumored terms of the deal, with US Senator Lindsey Graham warning they would be a “nightmare for Israel,” Senator Ted Cruz calling them a “disastrous mistake,” and Senator Roger Wicker saying they could render the achievements of Operation Epic Fury “for naught.”
Axios reported on Sunday that the emerging deal would take the form of a 60-day memorandum of understanding, which could be extended by mutual consent. Under the draft, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened without tolls, Iran would clear mines it had deployed in the waterway, and the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and issue limited sanctions waivers allowing Tehran to sell oil.
The draft also reportedly includes Iranian commitments never to pursue nuclear weapons and to negotiate over suspending uranium enrichment and removing its highly enriched uranium stockpile, though the method remained under negotiation, according to the New York Times and CBS News. Fox News reported that the deal was “95% there” as of Sunday, but negotiators were still haggling over “language.”
Trump said “time is on our side” and warned that the US blockade would remain “in full force and effect” until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.
Iranian officials have not publicly commented on the reported terms, but previously said the focus of talks remained on ending the war, and that nuclear details were not being discussed at this stage. Fars news agency has also disputed Trump’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz would simply be “opened.”
Iran has repeatedly portrayed control over the Strait of Hormuz as its main strategic leverage and has sought to change the legal regime governing the strait. Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, described the waterway as “a capability equivalent to an atomic bomb.”
The proposed MOU also reportedly states that the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would end. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised concerns about that provision and other parts of the draft during his call with Trump on Saturday.