Trump Furious After Leak of Softened Draft U.S.-Iran Peace Terms
A leaked confidential draft from the emerging U.S.-Iran peace agreement triggered a political storm in Washington and enraged President Donald Trump. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, the leaked text suggested a far more conciliatory American position toward Tehran than Trump wanted to project, prompting him to order his negotiating team to crush the idea that the deal is weak.
White House officials said Trump was deeply frustrated when he learned that large parts of the draft memorandum, expected to be signed in Geneva, had reached the media. The leaked sections appeared to ease Washington’s stance on the timetable for releasing frozen Iranian funds. Trump, who sees himself as negotiating from total strength, reportedly said in private, “They think we are suckers.” He then told aides and spokespeople to make clear that Iran would receive no economic aid or unfrozen money before taking concrete steps.
A senior administration official said Friday that sanctions relief and economic benefits would come only after Iran takes practical, irreversible steps on its nuclear program. The stated U.S. conditions include dismantling nuclear sites, ending uranium enrichment at all levels, and stopping all funding and arms transfers to regional proxy forces, especially Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The leak also sharpened domestic political pressure on Trump, who in his first term quit the 2015 Obama nuclear deal and called it “the worst deal in history.” Critics now warn the new effort could repeat those weaknesses. Prof. Caitlin Talmadge of MIT said, “It is very possible the deal ends with the same weaknesses that the hawks criticized in the JCPOA,” adding that Iran could still retain the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz later. Diplomats from Qatar and Pakistan are trying to bridge gaps so Vice President J.D. Vance can sign the Geneva memorandum, but fighting continues: an Iranian drone downed a U.S. Apache helicopter earlier this week, the U.S. Navy intercepted several Iranian attack drones on Friday night, and Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations said an oil tanker was hit by a projectile off Oman.
