Donald Trump Jr. publicly accused Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) of “lying thru his teeth” about the terms of the Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, in a sharp exchange playing out on X on June 17, 2026. “The only problem with this quote is that [Ted Cruz] is lying thru his teeth about the deal,” Trump Jr. wrote, responding to a post highlighting Cruz’s criticism of the agreement. “We’re not giving them a cent and he knows that. Using fake news about the peace deal to undermine [Donald Trump] is the opposite of MAGA.”
What Triggered the Exchange
The dispute began after Cruz gave his initial reaction to the newly released memorandum of understanding in an interview with Daily Wire editor Ben Domenech. Cruz told The Hill separately that the deal was “ill-advised,” saying, “History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal.” Domenech shared a portion of the Daily Wire interview on X, which Trump Jr. then quoted in his response.
In his full remarks to the Daily Wire, Cruz said he understood that the deal, as read aloud to reporters by a senior administration official, would send “somewhere between $10 billion and $30 billion” to Iran’s government “before they make even a single nuclear concession.” He also raised concerns about reports that the broader reconstruction package could total $300 billion, saying that figure would be three times larger than funds he said had reached Iran under the Biden administration. “It is a virtual certainty that if $300 billion went to the Ayatollah, that money would be used to murder Americans,” Cruz said. He added that he did not believe Iran should be permitted to charge any toll for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. should not pursue what he called “a Marshall Plan for Iran.”
Cruz’s Broader Argument
Cruz framed his objection as separate from his support for the military campaign that preceded the deal. “President Trump was exactly right to initiate military action against Iran because for 47 years the regime has been waging war against America, has been the world’s leading funder of terrorism, and has been murdering Americans for 47 years,” Cruz said. “Nearly one thousand Americans have been murdered by the Ayatollah and the mullahs. That is why the president acted as a strong commander-in-chief to take out their military capacity. It is not remotely in America’s interest for us to pay to rebuild that capacity that we just took out.”
In a separate post on X, Cruz drew a contrast with the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal, writing that the earlier agreement was “designed to give Iran nuclear weapons” and that comparing Trump’s approach to it was “absurd.” He added: “I do want to urge the president not to give up the victory; we have destroyed their military, and we should not fund the rebuild.”
Trump Jr.’s Response
Trump Jr. argued that Cruz’s framing misrepresented how the deal’s reconstruction fund would actually work. According to reporting on the proposed framework, the $300 billion figure under discussion is structured as a private investment fund intended to attract capital into Iran, rather than a direct transfer of U.S. government funds. More than half of that funding has reportedly already been pledged by companies and investors in the Gulf states, Asia, South America, and Africa, according to a source familiar with the matter cited in reporting on the deal.
President Trump separately denied that any U.S. government money would go toward the fund. “We’re not investing, we’re not putting up 10 cents,” Trump said. Trump Jr.’s defense rested on this distinction: that while the deal envisions a large reconstruction fund tied to Iranian compliance, no American taxpayer dollars would be the source of that money, and that the fund would only become operational after a final agreement is reached, not during the current 60-day negotiating window.
What the Deal Actually Says
The 14-point memorandum, read aloud by senior administration officials and reported by multiple outlets including CBS News, calls for an immediate and permanent end to military operations, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the removal of the U.S. naval blockade within 30 days. It commits the U.S. and regional partners to “develop a mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion” for Iran’s reconstruction, with implementation details to be finalized as part of a final agreement still to be negotiated. The memorandum also includes Iranian assurances not to pursue a nuclear weapon and grants Iran immediate waivers to resume oil exports, with full sanctions relief contingent on a final deal reached within a 60-day window.
Whether the funds described in the memorandum constitute U.S. government money, private investment facilitated by sanctions relief, or some combination of both, has been a recurring point of confusion since the deal’s announcement, including from within the administration itself. Vice President JD Vance said in a CBS News interview that Iran “could have access to” the fund, before later clarifying on Fox News that Iran would not receive “a single dime” of direct American money.
A Test of Republican Unity
Cruz has long been regarded as one of the Senate’s strongest allies of the Trump administration, making the public dispute notable within Republican circles. The exchange reflects a broader split among Trump’s coalition over how to evaluate the deal: some Republicans, including Cruz, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), have voiced skepticism about the financial terms, while others, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Trump Jr., have defended the agreement as consistent with the administration’s stated goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon without direct American funding.
As of June 18, neither Cruz nor Trump Jr. had issued further public statements responding to each other following the initial exchange. The full text of the memorandum had not been officially released in writing by either government, though multiple news organizations reported having obtained drafts matching the version read aloud by U.S. officials.