Republican lawmakers and former Trump administration officials sharply criticized reports of an emerging 60-day ceasefire agreement with Iran, warning that the proposed deal could hand Tehran a strategic victory and undermine the results of the US campaign against the Islamic Republic. US President Donald Trump said Saturday that a peace agreement involving the US, Iran, and several Middle Eastern countries had been “largely negotiated,” adding that the deal would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also said he had spoken separately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing the call as having gone “very well.”
The reported framework, which has not yet been finalized, would extend the current ceasefire for 60 days while further negotiations take place on issues including Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz. Several senior Republicans responded with alarm, arguing that any deal that leaves Iran with influence over the strait, access to funds, or nuclear capabilities would represent a failure. “I am deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran ‘deal,’ being pushed by some voices in the administration,” Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on X/Twitter.
Cruz said Trump’s decision to strike Iran was “the most consequential decision of his second term,” but warned that ending the conflict on the reported terms would be a mistake. “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 added. (Read More)
