Conservative legal commentator and former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy is leading a growing backlash from the right against President Donald Trump’s emerging agreement with Iran, blasting the proposal as a dangerous concession to a regime he argues cannot be trusted.
In a series of sharply worded commentaries published Monday and Tuesday, McCarthy compared Trump’s approach to the failed appeasement policies of the 1930s, labeling the president “Neville Trump” and warning that the administration’s memorandum of understanding with Tehran could become one of the most controversial foreign policy decisions of Trump’s second term. (RELATED: The Art Of Realpolitik: Trump’s Bet On Syria And The Future Of The Middle East)
McCarthy calls deal a ‘disaster’
The criticism centers on the administration’s MOU with Iran, which reportedly includes a 60-day ceasefire extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and the possibility of sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian assets if Tehran meets certain benchmarks.
McCarthy argued that negotiating with Iran is inherently problematic given the regime’s long history of violating agreements related to its nuclear program and support for terrorist proxies throughout the Middle East. He specifically criticized reports that Iran could receive financial benefits before a comprehensive agreement is finalized.
In one column, McCarthy dismissed the arrangement as a vague memorandum rather than a binding agreement and accused the administration of trying to sell the public on a deal lacking meaningful guarantees.
He left little to the imagination in a National Review piece titled “Trump’s Iran Deal: Billions Up Front for Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism”:
Since the administration is trying to dizzy us with spin about the MOU rather than just showing us the MOU, it’s important to understand: There is not an agreement. The MOU is an agreement to talk about an eventual agreement (and talk, and talk, and talk, as the Iranians have mastered doing) rather than to make binding commitments on matters of vital American interest.
The only thing that seems clear is that the world’s leading state sponsor of anti-American terrorism is going to get lots of money — we might even analogize it to “pallets of cash” — for nothing more than opening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had not closed until Trump decided to launch a war he had no intention of fighting to victory and to wave off advisers who warned him that Iran could close the strait. The figure under discussion is $24 billion up front — that’s before we get to astronomical sums down the line.
On this score, the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reports the Trump White House’s emphasis that Iran is merely getting “its own money back,” not American taxpayer funds. How stupid do they think we are?
Iran’s funds are frozen based on sanctions imposed, in part, due to its terrorism support, in addition to its nuclear weapons work, its ballistic missile work, human rights abuses, and targeting U.S. military and civilian vessels on the high seas. If the U.S. could keep funds from Iran but is now instead allowing the funds to be paid to Iran, that is material support to a state sponsor of terrorism — which the Iranian regime has been since 1984 under a formal State Department designation. It doesn’t matter that the funds are supposedly Iran’s rather than a payout from the U.S. treasury. Our government is giving access to billions of dollars in funds to an entity our government concedes uses its funds to underwrite the arsenals and deadly activities of its terrorist proxies.
McCarthy concluded the piece by directing readers to the State Department’s most recent report on Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism. (RELATED: Iran Threatens To Target Elon Musk’s Companies In Middle East)
Republicans demand answers
McCarthy’s criticism comes as congressional Republicans increasingly demand details about the deal’s contents.
Several GOP lawmakers have complained that they have not been fully briefed on the agreement and are seeking answers about enforcement mechanisms, inspection requirements, sanctions relief, and any commitments involving Iran’s nuclear program. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republicans have called for greater transparency before any final agreement is signed.
Trump acknowledged Monday that he would be open to sending the agreement to Congress for review after lawmakers from both parties expressed frustration over the lack of information.
Internal skepticism reportedly growing
Questions are also emerging inside the administration.
According to Axios, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has privately expressed doubts about whether Iran intends to make the nuclear concessions required for a permanent agreement. The report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have also raised concerns during internal discussions, although Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials have defended the framework.
Vance has argued that Iran will not gain access to significant financial benefits unless it satisfies specific requirements tied to future negotiations.
Echoes of the Obama-era nuclear fight
The emerging political battle has drawn inevitable comparisons to the 2015 Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement that Trump repeatedly denounced during his first presidential campaign and later withdrew from while in office. (RELATED: Obama Chimes In With His Prediction For Trump’s Iran Deal)
That comparison is fueling much of the conservative criticism. Opponents argue that Trump campaigned on securing a tougher agreement than President Barack Obama negotiated and now risks being accused of accepting many of the same tradeoffs he once condemned.
For now, the agreement remains preliminary. A formal signing is expected Friday, and administration officials insist the most consequential details will be negotiated over the next 60 days. But with conservatives such as McCarthy already denouncing the framework as a capitulation, the White House may soon find itself under fire from its own side as much as from Democrats.
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