US President Donald Trump is utilizing right-wing influencers and media figures identified with the MAGA camp to explain the outlines of the deal with Tehran and prevent a political rebellion within the president’s conservative base, according to Monday reports.
Additionally, according to sources familiar with the matter, the White House has in recent days asked Republican members of Congress to post messages on social media supporting the emerging agreement with Iran. While some agreed to the request, others expressed concern about the need to “defend the deal” when they return from recess in Washington, according to a senior party aide.
This battle is taking place as Trump himself is trying to project full confidence in the negotiations. The president made clear that, from his perspective, if an agreement is signed, “it will be good and proper, not like the one made by Obama,” adding: “I don’t make bad deals.”
Meanwhile, a senior White House official said that “no uranium, no deal,” referring to the issue of Iran’s enriched nuclear material. According to the official, “we are not going to surrender,” and although the sides “agreed in principle to a framework” and are “95% of the way there,” final understandings have not yet been reached.
According to the official, “We have an agreement regarding the nuclear stockpile and the Strait of Hormuz, but negotiations are still underway over the wording. There is no agreement until there is an agreement.” The official added that a possible deal would be based on the principle of “No Dust, No Dollars,” meaning that without fully addressing the issue of nuclear material, Iran would not receive significant economic relief.
White House aims to present deal as going beyond Iran
The White House is trying to present the agreement as a broad strategic achievement that goes far beyond the Iranian issue alone. According to officials familiar with the details, the administration hopes that new regional understandings will also lead to possible progress with Arab states on the Abraham Accords. The president himself raised this demand during a conference call he held with Arab and Muslim leaders on Saturday.
One figure who has stood out in his support for the move is Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, considered one of the most hawkish voices in the party. Graham argued that if Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan join the Abraham Accords as part of the regional move, “it would make this agreement one of the most consequential in the history of the Middle East.”
If in fact as a result of these negotiations to end the Iranian conflict, our Arab and Muslim allies in the region agreed to join the Abraham Accords, it would make this agreement one of the most consequential in the history of the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan…
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 24, 2026
However, some within the Republican camp fear that Iran is managing to emerge from the war stronger from a strategic standpoint. The criticism focuses mainly on the Strait of Hormuz. While Trump is presenting the understandings as an achievement that will lead to the opening of the strategic shipping route, Iran continues to send messages that Tehran still sees itself as controlling the world’s most important maritime passage.
Netanyahu presents united front with Washington
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sought to project a united front with Washington over the past day, announcing that he had spoken with Trump about “the memorandum of understanding to open the Strait of Hormuz,” as well as the expected negotiations with the Islamic Republic. According to Netanyahu, he and the American president agreed that any final deal must include “the dismantling of uranium enrichment sites, and the removal of enriched nuclear material from Iranian territory.”
Netanyahu said Trump again affirmed to him Israel’s right to defend itself “on every front, including in Lebanon.” Despite the cautious optimism in the White House, US officials stressed that the president is still preserving a full military option. “We have operational flexibility,” the senior official noted, “and strikes can be resumed if no agreement is reached.”
