WATCH: Cruz sounds alarm on Trump Iran deal, warns against handing billions to ‘theocratic lunatics’

June 18, 2026 11:58am EDT / Fox News

Sen. Adam Schiff said Iran is giving up ‘nothing’ in exchange for sanctions relief and access to frozen funds

By Hannah Brennan Fox News

WATCH: Senators react to Trump’s Iran peace deal: ‘What an embarrassment’

Republican and Democratic senators react to President Donald Trump’s Iran peace deal, with lawmakers from both parties criticizing the agreement and raising concerns about its potential impact. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers voiced strong skepticism about President Donald Trump’s newly signed Iran peace deal, arguing the agreement leaves Iran in a stronger position while questioning whether the United States secured enough in return.

Prior to Trump signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, offered some of the sharpest criticism among lawmakers, arguing the deal rewards “theocratic lunatics” of a hostile regime.

“Giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “I think the president, unfortunately, is receiving bad advice on this deal.”

Other Republicans stormed off when confronted about the new terms.

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, criticized the Trump administration’s Iran memorandum of understanding, arguing the agreement would provide billions of dollars in economic benefits to Tehran while several lawmakers questioned what the United States would gain in return.(Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The MOU provides immediate sanctions relief, including waivers on Iranian oil exports and access to frozen funds, while establishing a framework for more than $300 billion in reconstruction and economic development. It also sets a 60-day negotiation period aimed at reaching a final accord on Iran’s nuclear program — provisions critics like Cruz argue would provide Tehran with billions in economic benefits.

Democrats were even more brazen in their criticism of the Republican president.

“Iran is now going to be able to export their oil and gas, rake in billions more. It’s going to get access to its frozen assets,” Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. “And what is Iran giving up for this? Nothing.”

“This is a great deal for Iran,” he told Fox News Digital. “I just don’t understand the thinking at all.”

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Senator Adam Schiff speaks during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2026.(Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters)

Several lawmakers also questioned whether the agreement secures meaningful concessions on Iran’s nuclear program, the issue that drove the conflict in the first place.

“I think when it comes to the development of nuclear weapons, the language is the same,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. “We went to war for what?”

“Are you kidding?” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shot-back when asked about the quality of the deal. “Look, everything about this says that Iran is better off now than it was before this war started.”

Other lawmakers questioned whether the agreement could credibly be viewed as a win for the U.S. after months of war.

“My biggest fear is I don’t know how anyone, even as good a salesman as Donald Trump can be, can sell this as a win for the United States,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said.

Not every lawmaker opposed the agreement.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., shared a brief but supportive stance, saying: “Peace is better than war.”

TRUMP AGAIN SAYS DEAL IS CLOSE, THEN CONFIRMS A LAST-MINUTE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, BUT DETAILS STILL SECRET

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delivers an opening statement during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing for Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as DHS secretary in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Several lawmakers also compared the agreement to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear deal Trump withdrew from during his first term.

“The public reporting to me suggests we’re giving up an awful lot more to get a lot less than the JCPOA,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said.

Warren argued the outcome of the conflict had effectively brought the administration back to a deal similar to the one Trump once rejected.

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“Remember this whole nuclear deal now?” Warren asked. “No better than what we had back in 2015, back when Barack Obama cut the deal.

“And that’s where Donald Trump winds us up after all of this?” she continued. “What an embarrassment.”

Hannah is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.