Donald Trump Jr has publicly accused Senator Ted Cruz of “lying through his teeth” after the Texas Republican became one of the most prominent voices within his own party to condemn the president’s newly signed deal with Iran, triggering a bitter public row that has exposed deepening Republican divisions over the memorandum of understanding.
President Trump signed the 14-point accord at the G7 summit in France on Wednesday night, with the deal intended to draw a formal line under weeks of military conflict and diplomatic negotiations with the Iranian regime. But Cruz, speaking to the Daily Wire, delivered one of the most stinging Republican critiques yet. “What has been released so far suggests that, unfortunately, the president is getting very poor advice when it comes to this deal,” he said. “History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a bad idea.” Cruz claimed that between $10 billion and $30 billion would flow to the Ayatollah before Iran made any nuclear concessions.
Trump Jr responded swiftly on social media, writing: “Ted Cruz is lying thru his teeth. We’re not giving them a cent and he knows that. Using fake news about the deal to undermine @realDonaldTrump is the opposite of MAGA.” The Trump administration has insisted that the $300 billion reconstruction and development fund for Iran outlined in the deal will be drawn from unfrozen Iranian assets and sanctions relief — not American taxpayer money.
Cruz was not persuaded. He warned that any money reaching the Ayatollah “will go to fund terrorists trying to kill Americans and weapons that will be used to kill Americans,” and questioned a provision allowing Iran to maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply flows. “It is difficult to see what possible benefit to America could come from that,” he said. He stopped short of opposing the original military campaign, praising Trump for having “the courage to initiate military action against Iran,” but argued it made no sense to now “pay to rebuild that capacity that we just took out.”
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy went further, declaring that “Reagan is rolling over in his grave” and describing the deal as “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” He noted that Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not definitively curtailed, that 13 American service members died during the conflict, and that families had already paid billions more at the pump due to disruption to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz — only for sanctions to now be lifted and bombing to stop without a regime change. “Before the war, the strait was open, Iran was being crushed by sanctions and 13 service members were still alive,” Cassidy wrote on social media.
Fox News host Mark Levin published a lengthy critique on X, arguing that the memorandum of understanding failed to address Iran’s use of ballistic missiles — which he described as “the single most destructive weapon Iran has used” — and made no mention of Iran’s funding of terror groups or of reparations owed to the United States, Israel and Gulf countries for damage caused by Iranian missiles. “AGAIN, DURING THE NEXT 60 DAYS THIS MOU REQUIRES SERIOUS CHANGES IF NOT OUTRIGHT ABANDONMENT,” Levin concluded.
Fox News contributor Leslie Marshall also described the deal as “a great deal for Iran,” arguing on Special Report with Bret Baier that the United States had received remarkably little in return. “Iran comes back richer,” she said. “We get a strait that was opened before reopened. We get a temporary hold in no tolls. Where is the specific verification within these 14 points to make sure that Iran is more than just promising that they’re not going to have any nukes?”
President Trump defended the agreement at a press conference, arguing that a total ban on Iranian ballistic missiles was unrealistic. “What am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them? Missiles aren’t the problem. They hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet,” he said. He also confirmed that American forces had destroyed approximately 85 per cent of Iran’s missile capability during Operation Epic Fury. Asked what would happen if Iran failed to honour the deal, Trump was characteristically blunt: “I would go back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.”
In a moment of levity — or warning — Trump also suggested Vice President JD Vance would bear responsibility if things went wrong. “This way, if it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” he said.
