Here are Trump’s top five tweets criticizing the Obama Iran deal

Here are five of his most notable tweets about the 2015 deal.

Nov. 24, 2013

“We had all the leverage in our nuclear negotiations with Iran and our leaders foolishly decided to let them out of the trap. WHY?” Trump wrote.

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Germany, and Iran signed an interim deal in November 2013, the so-called “Joint Plan of Action.” The 2013 deal provided temporary sanctions relief in exchange for a short-term freeze on Iran’s nuclear program.

Immediately upon signing Trump’s memorandum of understanding, the United States agreed to lift its naval blockade on Iran and to remove “any disturbances or impediments” against the country. The U.S. also committed to immediately issuing sanctions waivers that will enable Iran to sell its oil abroad. 

March 26, 2015

“Message to Obama re: Iran: ‘The worst thing you can possibly do in a deal is seem desperate to make it.’ – The Art of the Deal,” Trump wrote.

Negotiators were in Lausanne, Switzerland, from March 26 to April 2, 2015, to determine a framework for the JCPOA. Those meetings led to the final deal in October of that year. Trump argued at the time that Obama was rushing into a deal that he did not adequately understand.

Critics have argued that Trump was too quick to enter into the memorandum of understanding. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who lost a primary election to a Trump-endorsed challenger in May, called the agreement the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) welcomed the timing of the deal, saying on Newsmax that “ war has to end through negotiation.”

March 31, 2015

“Each day that Iran delays the deal, if that is what you call it, we must add another sanction, and make them progressively tough,” Trump wrote.

The JCPOA, which went into effect in January 2014, was initially set to expire after six months. Negotiators repeatedly extended the interim agreement as they worked to overcome significant impasses between the various parties. Trump said at the time that the best way to compel Iran to agree to a final deal was through economic pressure.

Trump’s memorandum of understanding largely keeps existing sanctions in place, although it does provide limited waivers for Tehran. Pending the final deal, the two sides agree to “maintain the status quo” regarding sanctions, nuclear activity, and military buildup.

Feb. 2, 2017

“Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion,” Trump wrote.

The JCPOA allowed Iran to access its frozen assets abroad. Iran only ever gained access to $50 billion to $55 billion of its assets. The U.S. also sent $1.7 billion to Iran under a separate settlement with the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal.

As part of Trump’s memorandum of understanding, the U.S. commits to work with regional allies to develop a “definitive, mutually agreed plan” to provide at least $300 billion for “reconstruction and economic development” in Iran. That memorandum says that the details of that plan will be set as part of the final deal within 60 days.

READ IN FULL: THE 14-POINT PEACE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN

Jan. 3, 2020

“Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!” Trump wrote.

Fox News’s Peter Doocy asked Trump about this tweet at a Wednesday press conference at the G7 summit in France.

“If they raised the white flag of surrender, and if they said ‘praise be to Allah. Donald Trump is the greatest president ever. We totally conceded, we totally give up. This war is over, we have failed,” Trump responded. “The New York Times and CNN and a couple of others — they are not all that dishonest — would say ‘Iran had a great victory.’”