Mike Pompeo blasts Iran deal as not remotely America First
Mike Pompeo attacked an emerging US-Iran deal on Saturday, saying on X that it looked like a return to the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook. The former US secretary of state said the deal would pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world, then added: 'Not remotely America First.'
Pompeo’s criticism landed while details of the arrangement were still being finalized. Donald Trump said the final aspects and details of the deal were being discussed and would be announced shortly, a signal that the agreement remained fluid even as Republican criticism sharpened.
Pompeo’s attack on X
Pompeo wrote that the deal being floated with Iran seemed straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: 'Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world.' He then called for a harder line, saying: 'It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.'
Pompeo also posted: 'Overdue. Let’s go.' His comments came from a former top diplomat who served as US secretary of state during the first Trump Administration, giving the criticism added weight inside a debate that is still moving through the Trump orbit.
Steven Cheung responds
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung replied that Pompeo had no idea what he was talking about. Cheung said Pompeo should 'shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals,' and added that Pompeo was not read into anything that was happening.
That response put the White House and Pompeo on opposite sides of the same emerging agreement, with the dispute playing out in public on X. Texas Senator Ted Cruz also weighed in on X, saying he was 'deeply concerned about what we are hearing about an Iran “deal,” being pushed by some voices in the administration.'
Trump’s pending Iran agreement
Trump said an agreement had been largely negotiated between the United States, Iran, and other listed countries, subject to finalization. He wrote that 'in addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,' and said he had a very good call with Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and others concerning Iran.
The immediate next step is the announcement Trump said would come shortly, after which Pompeo’s attack and Cheung’s rebuke will sit against the final terms Washington and Tehran choose to present.
