(José Niño, Headline USA) President Donald Trump’s emerging agreement to conclude the Iran war is drawing fierce pushback from hawkish Republicans who argue the deal risks squandering American military gains and leaving Tehran in a stronger position than before hostilities began, Fortune reported.
The proposed arrangement that Trump described as “largely negotiated” has prompted lawmakers, former Cabinet members, and conservative commentators to question publicly whether the terms would render the entire military campaign pointless.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) declared that the president’s decision to strike Iran ranked as the “most consequential” of his second term and urged Trump not to relent now. “If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime—still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’— now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz wrote Saturday on X in response to Trump’s update following calls with Israeli and regional leaders.
I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran “deal,” being pushed by some voices in the administration.
President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was the most consequential decision of his second term. He was right to do so, and we achieved extraordinary…
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 24, 2026
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C), typically a close Trump ally, rejected any agreement that would allow Iran to emerge as a dominant regional force while retaining the capability to devastate Gulf oil infrastructure.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the wisdom of a proposed 60 day ceasefire window. “Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” Wicker declared, calling the proposal a “disaster.”
Trump swatted away the criticism, noting that the agreement had not been finalized. “So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he wrote on his social media platform. The president insisted the deal he and his team are constructing represents “THE EXACT OPPOSITE” of the nuclear pact Iran signed under President Obama, which Trump abandoned during his first term.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” Trump added, noting that a U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports would remain “in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”
Under the emerging proposal, the war would end and Iran would re-open the Strait of Hormuz and surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with specifics and timelines to be hammered out during a subsequent 60 day period, regional officials told the Associated Press.
Former Trump administration officials joined the chorus of skeptics. Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State during Trump’s first term, argued Saturday that the emerging deal appeared indistinguishable from the Obama era agreement Trump had rejected. “Not remotely America First,” Pompeo wrote on X, drawing a profanity laden response from White House communications director Steven Cheung.
The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world.
Not remotely America First. It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out…
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) May 23, 2026
John Bolton, a former national security adviser who has become one of Trump’s most vocal critics, contended that the reported terms favored Tehran. “If news reports about the impending Iran deal are correct, the ayatollahs will have won a significant victory,” Bolton wrote Sunday on X. “They will be back on the road to nuclear weapons, supporting global terrorism and repressing their own people.”
Senator Wicker is completely correct. If news reports about the impending Iran deal are correct, the ayatollahs will have won a significant victory. They will be back on the road to nuclear weapons, supporting global terrorism and repressing their own people. https://t.co/CbqJJLUbQT
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) May 24, 2026
