Just two days after details emerged of a possible U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, opposition to President Donald Trump’s approach has exploded in Washington, including from conservative media that usually back him. The New York Post, which Trump often praises, ran a rare front-page attack on Tuesday under the headline “EASY MULLAH,” depicting a smiling Iranian cleric holding U.S. dollars in front of oil fields and pumps.
The paper said the deal amounts to surrender, warning in its subhead that Iran would receive a $10 billion boost to its oil account from the United States before any full nuclear agreement is signed. According to the article, the current framework would lift all sanctions on Iranian oil for the next 60 days, giving the Islamic Republic a windfall that critics say would help finance regime recovery while the larger deal is still incomplete. Vice President JD Vance has tried to calm concerns by saying Iran agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors back, but no final agreement has been signed.
Trump responded angrily on Truth Social after returning from the G7 summit, attacking critics as people who are “either jealous, or bad people, or just stupid,” while arguing that the stock market had hit a record and oil prices were falling. The backlash has also triggered unusually sharp criticism from both parties in Congress.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said “Ronald Reagan is turning over in his grave,” while Ted Cruz of Texas called the plan a kind of “Marshall Plan for Iran.” Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas warned the sanctions relief could bring Iran $150 million to $200 million a day, or $4.5 billion to $6 billion a month, money he said would rebuild drones and missiles and fund Hamas and Hezbollah. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also questioned whether the memorandum leaves Iran worse off than before. Democrats joined in, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying Iran appears to have won almost all of the 14 published provisions, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal calling it a “shameful agreement” and “unconditional surrender” by the United States.
