On the 17th (local time), after the full text of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war was released, criticism poured in from the U.S. conservative camp.
According to Fox News, conservatives are expressing strong displeasure that the MOU includes support for Iran's reconstruction and economic development even though it does not contain core demands such as the immediate dismantlement of Iran's nuclear facilities, removal of enriched uranium, limits on ballistic missiles, and the disbanding of Iran's proxy forces such as Hezbollah.
Will Chamberlain, vice president for external affairs at the conservative-leaning think tank the Edmund Burke Foundation, wrote on social media platform X that "this deal is truly awful and there's no denying it," urging President Donald Trump to scrap the MOU.
Mark Levin, a conservative radio host who has supported war with Iran, also posted on X, saying, "From the beginning, I have said the Iranian regime would not abide by any agreement," and asked, "Why should we agree to lay down our most important negotiating cards before the regime even complies with the MOU's requirements?"
In particular, criticism is even harsher from conservative figures who have broken with President Trump. Miles Taylor, who served as chief of staff to the secretary of homeland security in the first Trump administration but later sparked controversy by writing an op-ed critical of Trump, said, "Trump's deal could become one of the most humiliating cases in U.S. diplomatic history," adding, "It amounts to handing over hundreds of billions of dollars in exchange for promises that should have been kept in the first place."
Mike Pence, who served as vice president during the first Trump administration, also said of the MOU, "It reeks of the appeasement policy we witnessed during the Obama administration," adding, "It's the very same appeasement policy that the Joe Biden administration tried but was ignored by Iran, and that the first Trump administration firmly rejected."
The MOU released by the United States that day states that the U.S. will draw up a definitive, mutually agreed plan worth at least $300 billion (about 457 trillion won) for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will pursue it together with regional partners.
President Trump has long criticized the Obama administration's provision of $1.7 billion to Iran when it concluded the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as "giving away." Although this MOU does not involve the U.S. government directly funding Iran, it appears unlikely to escape conservative criticism as it includes a large-scale reconstruction and economic support plan.