President Donald Trump dismissed critics of his Iran ceasefire Memorandum of Understanding as “fools” on Saturday, citing record stock prices and falling oil costs after former President Barack Obama and GOP lawmakers questioned the deal’s terms.
Trump Fires Back At Obama Over Iran
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump branded Obama a “weak and ineffective leader,” accusing him of empowering Tehran through financial concessions during his tenure. Trump argued that Iran’s military defeat in the recent conflict validated his approach and proved the agreement’s success.
“Obuma just kept giving them $Billions in cash, and never used our then depleted military” to rein in Tehran, Trump wrote, calling Iran the “World’s number one sponsor of terror.” He said both Obama and former President Biden commanded “ZERO respect” from Iran, adding, “Iran got away with ‘murder’ for 47 years, until I came along. AMERICA IS BACK!!!”
The 14-point memorandum of understanding, signed on Wednesday, brings an end to a nearly four-month conflict. It lifts U.S. sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments. It also includes a $300 billion Iran reconstruction fund.
Obama, GOP Hawks Question Deal’s Cost
Trump’s retaliation follows Obama’s Friday criticism during an interview, where he said the U.S. may be “worse off” than before the war, citing steep military and financial costs. “We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, put an enormous strain on our military, a lot of people have died and it feels like we are back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little worse off,” Obama said.
During the interview, he also defended the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under his administration, which Trump exited in 2018. Obama argued that withdrawal allowed “Iran to develop more nuclear capacity,” though he said he hoped the new MOU would hold.
Earlier, Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) called the reconstruction fund “five times as much as Congress spends on our roads and bridges annually,” while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley warned that it risked rebuilding the threat the U.S. “just destroyed.”
Hormuz Standoff Tests Truce
On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, citing alleged Israeli actions in Lebanon and a U.S. breach of ceasefire commitments. U.S. Central Command disputed the closure, reporting 55 merchant ships safely transited the strait, carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil.
Vice President JD Vance departed Washington for Switzerland on Saturday for talks with Iranian negotiators set to begin Sunday, after the meeting was delayed from its original Friday date amid renewed Middle East escalation. A high-level Iranian delegation, led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also arrived in Switzerland Saturday, Iranian state media reported.
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