Trump's Iran Deal 'Worse Than Obama's,' Critics Warn
SkimNews Take
The U.S. strategy of maximum pressure inadvertently created leverage for Iran, as the economic pain incentivized a deal that ultimately strengthened Tehran's financial and geopolitical position.
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- Iran leveraged its closure of the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the US into a deal where it opens the waterway without charging a toll, in exchange for phased sanctions relief including the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets, per the FT analysis.
- Trump's April 5 social media post demanding Iran open the strait 'sounded just a touch desperate,' the commentary argues, given his failure to follow through on threats of violence.
- Senator Ted Cruz called the emerging deal a potential 'disastrous mistake,' warning it would leave Iran 'able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz.'
- Senator Roger Wicker, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the deal 'would not be worth the paper it is written on.'
- Eli Groner, a former director-general of Netanyahu's office, called the outcome 'Disaster,' arguing Iran's proven ability to close the strait is 'a victory far deeper and more strategic than any point-scoring military achievement.'
- Dan Shapiro, former US ambassador to Israel, said Iran gained 'significant leverage for the future' by demonstrating it can control the strait, attacking neighbors and US bases, and 'taking the United States' and Israel's best punch and surviving.'
- Trump's emerging deal 'looks, in many respects, worse than the one Obama negotiated,' the column concludes, even though Trump previously called the 2015 nuclear agreement 'one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.'
Why it matters: The deal reverses the war's stated goals: the Iranian regime stays in power, gains billions in unfrozen assets, and retains the proven ability to close the Strait of Hormuz. Trump previously called the 2015 Obama nuclear deal 'one of the worst' ever, yet the emerging pact arguably concedes more to Tehran on nuclear restrictions while leaving the strait weaponized for future use, per the FT analysis.
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