A Democratic senator compared Donald Trump's Iranian negotiations to those of former President Barack Obama — and it sent the current leader into a tirade.
Trump raged just before 3 a.m. in a Truth Social Post after Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) highlighted what he said were striking similarities between the Trump administration's current Iran negotiations and the Obama-era nuclear deal that Trump previously denounced and abandoned.
During a Fox News interview Sunday, Coons pointed out that Trump appears to be pursuing a negotiation strategy remarkably similar to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), offering "tens of billions of dollars of incentives and reduced sanctions in exchange for abandoning their nuclear program".
Trump was furious. In his post, he vehemently denied any negotiations with Iran and claimed a U.S. bombing that happened earlier this month had obliterated the country's nuclear program.
He added, "Tell phony Democrat Senator Chris Coons that I am not offering Iran ANYTHING, unlike Obama, who paid them $Billions under the stupid “road to a Nuclear Weapon JCPOA (which would now be expired!), nor am I even talking to them since we totally OBLITERATED their Nuclear Facilities."
The United Nations' chief nuclear inspector contradicted Trump's assertions, stating that the damage to Iran's nuclear program was "severe" but not "total" — with Iran having the potential to restart operations within months.
Coons highlighted additional uncertainty, noting that Iran may have potentially moved nearly 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium before the U.S. strikes — "enough to fit in the back of an F-150 pickup truck."
Despite Trump's public denials, administration sources suggest ongoing diplomatic efforts, including proposals to:
- Offer $20-30 billion in Arab ally funding for civilian nuclear programs
- Remove select sanctions
- Allow Iran to access $6 billion in frozen assets
- Engage Gulf states in facility replacement negotiations
This diplomatic dance marks a dramatic reversal from Trump's 2018 withdrawal from the original JCPOA, which subsequently allowed Iran's nuclear program to accelerate.
While Trump publicly dismisses negotiations, his own advisers reportedly believe a long-term deal is necessary to solidify the recent Iran-Israel ceasefire agreement.
