Initial US-Iran agreement leaves many key issues to be negotiated

Criticism has been swift, including within Trump’s own political party. Lawmakers in Congress are demanding briefings and information from the Trump administration about the deal and the uncertainties it carries.

Some Republicans said they were skeptical of the agreement, with one prominent Republican senator denouncing it and arguing Trump gave up too much to Iran and didn’t get enough in return.

“Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future,” outgoing Sen Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost a primary challenge to a Trump-backed opponent, said in a post on X.

“This is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” the Republican added.

Other key issues also get short shrift in the page-and-a-half deal.

When the war started Trump said a top priority was preventing Iran from funding proxy groups in the region, like Hezbollah. That was a priority for Israel, as well, which joined the US in launching the war and has waged a separate conflict with the Iranian-backed militia group in Lebanon.

The cessation of hostilities under this initial agreement extends to Hezbollah. But the group barely received any other mention in the deal, and it is unclear if Iran will be pressured to drop its support for the group and other regional proxies in the next round of talks.