Trump lashes out at critics of Iran memorandum, says he may resume strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump posted a furious message on Thursday in response to mounting criticism in the United States over the memorandum of understanding he signed digitally with Iran. He called his critics “fools,” “fanatics,” or “bad people,” writing, “These fools who think I was not tough enough on Iran, while the stock market has just hit an all-time high and oil prices are plunging, are either fanatics, or bad people, or fools.” He ended with his familiar slogan, “Making America Great Again!!! President Donald J. Trump.”

The backlash has spread far beyond Washington. Jewish communities in the United States have reacted angrily, and the article says a large billboard was hung overnight in Monsey, opposite a popular haredi supermarket, reading in Yiddish, “Trump is a donkey.” In Israel, the deal also drew sharp criticism. Minister Miki Zohar said in an interview that Israel “would not only have existed and been present in any situation, but we would have struck Iran in such a way that they would have had no electricity, water, or food, if we had wanted to,” adding that restraint came from honoring the alliance with the United States.

Trump insists the arrangement is a “very strong agreement.” In a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the UN headquarters, he said, “Most people like this agreement, the markets like this deal, and there is no one who knows markets better than the markets.” He also stressed that it is only a memorandum of understanding, warning, “If I do not like it, we will go back to shooting at each other,” and, “If I do not like the agreement, we will go back to bombing Iran.”

Iranian officials are portraying the deal as a diplomatic victory. Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said in an interview with Iranian television that when Israel attacked the Dahieh, Iran threatened the United States and delivered an ultimatum to accept its demands or face a response. He said, “Trump was forced to publish a tweet and tell Netanyahu to stop the fire.”

Trump also pointed to market reaction as proof the deal is working, saying it could have led to a global recession and that “we have a strong market, oil prices are falling.” Under the memorandum, Iran is to freeze uranium enrichment for 12 to 15 years and allow expanded international monitoring of its nuclear facilities, while sanctions would be lifted gradually. But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Beijing that Tehran would only accept a “fair and comprehensive agreement,” a phrase widely interpreted in Iran as a demand for the complete removal of sanctions.