Donald Trump Says Iran Pact Would Be Achievement, While Chris Van Hollen Criticizes Deal

U.S. President Donald Trump said the anticipated pact with Iran would be an achievement the whole world would be proud of, while accusing Democratic rivals of being weak and traitors in a post on Truth Social.

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Trump argued the deal being negotiated with Iran would be far better than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iranian nuclear deal, which he criticized as being drafted by Barack Obama and sleepy Joe Biden.

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A separate account of the debate came as American lawmakers were sharply divided on Sunday talk shows, with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen saying the circulating outlines do not look like more than a return to the status quo ante bellum with Iran.

Republican Representative Mike Gallagher praised Trump’s approach, telling CBS's Face the Nation, "I think overall what the administration has managed to accomplish for the first time in 47 years is to force the remnants of this regime to enter into negotiations, real negotiations."

In Beijing, a high-level bilateral summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping began with a formal welcome ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, signaling two days of closed talks.

The Al-Youm Al-Sabea account said Trump posted a tweet before the closed session announcing his top demand from Xi Jinping would be a broad and dramatic removal of restrictions on American companies and technology.

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U.S. officials in the same report said Trump intends to raise the human rights issue directly and pressure Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai (78), a pro-democracy media tycoon in Hong Kong sentenced to 20 years in prison by Chinese authorities in February.

As the Iran war loomed over the agenda, the report said Trump told reporters during his trip that the United States does not need China’s help to resolve this conflict, while it also described how geopolitical analysts expected Chinese pressure on Tehran to be met by stringent demands from Beijing for concessions from Washington.

The الشرق للأخبار account said a two-week ceasefire agreement that the United States brokered with Iran was due to end on Wednesday evening amid fears of renewed war with Iran, which began on February 28 with unprecedented American-Israeli strikes.

“President Donald Trump described the anticipated pact with Iran as an achievement the whole world would be proud of on Monday evening, accusing Democratic rivals of being weak and traitors who are doing their best to downplay his administration's achievements”

Al-Sharq Lil-Akhbar

It also said tensions led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of global energy supplies pass, and after the truce took effect on April 8, the president announced a blockade of Iranian ports.

In Washington’s domestic debate, Republican Senator Bill Hagerty said any deal would include "rigorous" terms to ensure Iran has no path to acquiring a nuclear weapon, while also arguing those terms would be largely enforceable.

Trump, meanwhile, said on Sunday that the negotiations with Iran have not yet been completed and that he 'will not strike bad deals,' while also criticizing the deal struck by former President Barack Obama and saying, "If I strike a deal with Iran it will be a good and proper deal, not like Obama's."