Iran hawks erupt over terms of Trump’s peace proposal 

The reported terms of a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war spurred a swift backlash from allies of President Trump who have cheered on his fight against the Islamic Republic. 

Prominent conservative media figures and pro-Israel advocates spoke out against the deal, which would end Iran’s nuclear enrichment for a limited period and keep the regime in place, with U.S. sanctions scaled back over time. 

The proposal followed a surprise announcement by Trump on Tuesday to end Project Freedom, a military operation that began the previous day to free commercial ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. 

Fox News broadcaster Mark Levin, who Trump has praised for defending the Iran war against MAGA critics, said the deal would be “disastrous” for Iranians and for the Israeli government. 

“And here at home, despite all the blather about exit ramps and deals as the best political outcome for the president and Republicans, the opposite is true,” he wrote in an X post on Wednesday. “The Democrats, the media, and the isolationists will declare the operation a failure.”

Levin said he was inclined to believe the report in Axios laying out the terms was “largely fake.”

However, neither Trump nor the White House has pushed back against the report. The U.S. is awaiting Iran’s response to its proposal. Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that Tehran has a week to reach a peace deal. 

The U.S. struck Iran for the first time on Thursday since starting a ceasefire last month, in retaliation for attacks on U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Central Command. Trump called it a “love tap” and said the ceasefire remains in place.

According to Axios, the one-page agreement would create a 30-day-period to negotiate the details of a nuclear deal, with both sides relaxing their blockades in the Strait of Hormuz during that period, eventually allowing free passage as existed before the war. 

In exchange for Iran agreeing to end nuclear enrichment for some 10-20 years, the U.S. would ease sanctions and return frozen assets to the regime. 

Iran hawks see any end to the U.S. blockade as giving up crucial leverage when Tehran is feeling intense economic pain. 

“This would be a terrible deal,” conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt,........

© The Hill