WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday praised Iran’s leadership as “very rational” and “not radicalized” people as he sold a US-Iran agreement that could enrich the regime.
Trump’s showering of compliments – even calling the Iranians “nice to deal with” – comes as details of the purported terms of the peace deal were published Tuesday afternoon by Israeli and Saudi news outlets — with Congress and US allies still left in the dark.
Major American news outlets, including The Post, could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the documents, and in a further wrinkle, Israel’s Channel 12 posted a 12-point version that differs in wording, order and substance from Al Arabiya’s 14-point edition.
President Trump claimed he never cared about regime change. AFP via Getty Images
The front page of the New York Post on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
The reported terms of the deal would allow Iran to restart its oil business by waiving sanctions, lifting the naval blockade and freeing up to $300 billion to reconstruct Iran through investments with Gulf countries.
The White House did not clarify whether the leaked texts were accurate.
Trump pledged to release the text himself after a planned signing ceremony with the Iranians on Friday in Switzerland.
“I will not only release it, I will probably have a press conference and read it to you word by word so that the press covers it accurately,” Trump said during a Tuesday meeting at the G7.
Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf electronically signed the memorandum of understanding on Sunday, ending the nearly four-month war, but had not released the terms as of Tuesday.
Vance will lead the US delegation to Switzerland while Trump left open the possibility of also joining the Iranians.
A poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei (R), and his son the current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (C). AFP via Getty Images“We’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people,” Trump said Tuesday. “They were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. I think actually they’re smarter than the first and second group, but they’re not radicalized and they’re, you know, looking to help their country.”
Under the deal, Iran agrees not to pursue a nuclear bomb, but it leaves many major points — like what to do with the enriched uranium it has — up in the air for future talks.
Follow The Post’s coverage on the latest in the peace deal with Iran:
- Fed-up Trump threatens to ‘blow the s–t’ out of Iran — prompting Tehran to storm out of US peace talks
- Vance suggests US, Iran could ‘transform’ relationship but Tehran officials insist they’re not making friends: ‘Primary option is jihad’
- Trump vows to ‘hit Iran very hard again’ if Tehran doesn’t rein in Hezbollah
- Strait of Hormuz closing again, IRGC announces — as US Central Command says commercial traffic has ‘increased’
In the meantime, it allows Iran to sell oil with sanction waivers, a source told The Post. The last time Iran operated sanction-free was in 1979, when the US introduced sanctions after the Iran Revolution.
American officials involved in the deal say it provides for the 60-day toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and for gradual sanctions relief and unfreezing of funds if Tehran cooperates with the disposal of its highly enriched uranium and ends support for terrorist proxies.
People drive past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2026. via REUTERSThat 60-day timeframe is included in the Channel 12 version, but the Al Arabiya version says the sides agree to reopen passage to full capacity “within 30 days.”
Both versions mention a proposed $300 billion investment fund, which US officials say Gulf Arab states will finance.
The exact wording of the agreement has stoked broad concern among Iran hawks who cheered on Trump’s military campaign to prevent the Islamic Republic from ever developing a nuclear weapon.
Skeptics fear that Trump may never reach a point in followup talks where the highly enriched uranium is destroyed.
Pedestrians walk past a billboard depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Getty ImagesBoth reported versions say the US will temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil, allowing for it to be freely sold to gain needed income after months under blockade.
Both versions also say Iran will commit to further talks on the fate of the nuclear program and recommit to not develop a nuclear weapon — however, that longstanding claim was belied in the past by the prewar processing of uranium to near-weapons-grade purity.
Channel 12 described its version as an “outline.” The Al Arabiya version contains fuller sections, but also passages that seem at-odds with American claims that frozen funds will only be released in accordance with measurable progress — with the exception of “small antes” of money described Monday as a truth-building effort.
“The United States undertakes that, in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement, frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available,” the Al Arabiya version says.
“These funds, whether held in the master account or transferred, will be used for any final beneficiary payment determined by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be fully available for use.”
A woman waves an Iranian flag on June 15, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Getty ImagesThat wording, if enacted in the actual document, could cause a revolt among congressional Republicans fearful of a replay of President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal, through which an estimated $50 billion in frozen funds were released, including airlifted pallets of cash, which did little to curb Iran’s fueling of regional conflicts or its nuclear ambitions.
Neither version clarifies the future status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian officials hope to toll in conjunction with Oman — though US officials said Monday they expect to confirm the permanent toll-free status in subsequent talks and Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it partners with Iran to impose tolls.
America’s ally in the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, admitted Monday he hadn’t been provided with a copy of the agreement.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday he still hadn’t seen the file, despite the Senate’s constitutional role ratifying treaties and possible role affirming the deal.
America’s closest partners from G7 nations gathered near Geneva for talks with Trump — including the UK, Germany and Japan — and the United Arab Emirates were left in the dark, sources told The Post.
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 16, 2026. REUTERSTrump said Tuesday he was confident that the finer points would be resolved within the next two months.
“It is a 60-day period or so. I think it is going to happen fairly on time,” he said.
“We have both been involved. Iran wants to get it done. They want to get back to business. Their relationship is now normalized, so I think it is going to go quickly.”
One detail Trump made clear was not top of mind was foundationally changing the Islamic Republic, now led by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, after US-Israeli airstrike assassinated his father Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war on Feb. 28.
US President Donald Trump arrives to attend a musical interlude before a gala dinner as part of the G7 summit, in Evian, eastern France, on June 16, 2026. POOL/AFP via Getty Images“I never cared about regime change. It was never a part,” Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the G7 — despite previously calling on Iranians to rise up against their clerical leaders and then launching the war one month later.
“I’ve watched regime changes for years. They never work. It has to just happen,” Trump added.
After acknowledging Iran’s leaders slaughtered thousands of protesters in January, Trump said “the majority of that took place during the first and second regimes, much more so than now.”
Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence was among those to oppose the deal Tuesday, saying that “we would be better off allowing the armed forces of the United States to finish the job… [to] give the people of Iran a real shot at freedom.”






