President Donald Trump is considering firing War Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John
Ratcliffe over their internal opposition to the memorandum of understanding reached with Iran, a senior U.S. official told Israel Hayom, in what would represent a dramatic purge of two of his most senior national security officials. The possible firings reflect a deepening fault line inside the Trump administration over the Iran deal, one that pits the president's own intelligence and defense chiefs against the diplomatic team that negotiated the agreement.
According to Axios, which independently confirmed the internal divisions, Ratcliffe told Trump and senior officials that intelligence gathered by U.S. agencies raised serious doubts about Iran's willingness to make the nuclear concessions Washington is seeking in any final deal. The intelligence showed that Iranian officials were discussing the agreement among themselves in ways that were inconsistent with what they were telling American mediators, a red flag that, according to sources, Ratcliffe described in stark terms to the president.
Ratcliffe was not alone. Hegseth also raised concerns and questions about the MOU in internal meetings, as did Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.On the other side of the table: Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, all of whom advocated for the deal. According to the Israel Hayom report, Vance has developed particularly close ties with Qatar's leadership, and Gulf state pressure, led by Doha, has been a significant factor pushing the negotiations forward. (Ed note: This is unusual. Most of the time, President Trump lets his people have their say in matters.) (Read More)
