Posted on 06/17/2026 7:58:17 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade ripped the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran during a Wednesday morning interview with the Hudson Institute’s Rebeccah Heinrichs.
“Rebeccah, can we just start on the Israeli portion of it? Israel has to, I guess, stop fighting back against Hezbollah, who’s lobbing missiles at the northern part of their country,” began Kilmeade. “This makes absolutely no sense.”
“It makes no sense. And we also know, Brian, that there have been diplomatic attempts over and over and over again since the early 2000s to try to get Hezbollah to disarm. They will not disarm, it has never worked through negotiations and diplomacy. At this point, if this is tied to this deal, the United States would essentially be restraining Israel, our greatest ally in the region and the reason that we had such success in [Operation] Epic Fury,” replied Heinrichs.
“Yeah, you can’t blame [Benjamin] Netanyahu for this. They’re defending themselves. They just happen to be very good at defending themselves. It’s not their fault that they’re this strong and this devastating, and Syria is not equipped to take out Hezbollah, even though they’d love to. They have no missile defense, Hezbollah has got rockets,” agreed Kilmeade, shooting down Trump’s suggestion that Israel allow Syria to take out Hezbollah.
“Let’s talk about the deal. What concerns you most about what we now know about this deal as we wait two days for the formal reading of the deal?” he followed up.
“Well, first of all, Brian, I just want to say, I mean, Epic Fury was so successful and Economic Fury is so successful, and President Trump was right to initiate it. And we really have the Iranians in a vice, which is why I’m concerned that we would permit the Iranians access to their oil as we relieve this blockade. They would essentially have billions of dollars back into the IRGC coffers. I know the vice president continues to say this will be conditions-based, but as far I can tell this, isn’t even gonna be put in escrow accounts to trap it to make sure that the IRGC complies. We have no reason to believe that they will, so they will be flooded with cash almost immediately,” answered Heinrichs. “My second big concern is that the deal does recognize Iranian governance with other Gulf States over the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the Iranians will say they just want to collect environmental tolls. They’re not going to call it tolls, they’ll call it fees. That’s tolls! Brian, that’s worse than before Epic Fury. The United States cannot permit Iran to have coercive control over the Strait of Hormuz. And so to me, those are the two big ones tied with, I think., the fact that once you relieve sanctions, you really lose your leverage to enforce what we want on removing and dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.”
“And what we’re gonna do is they have frozen funds. So it’ll be 300 billion. It looks like they get it up front. It looks they’re gonna be selling oil right up front, and it looks like after 60 days they charge tolls with Oman. There’s no way, because that’s gonna set a precedent for international waters and waterways around the world. So that every big and small power does not want this to be a new trend,” mused Kilmeade. “That’ll blow everybody’s budget, correct?”
The pair went on to express concern over the leverage the agreement might lend the Chinese as well as the United States’ role in helping Iran secure the $300 billion in investments. Kilmeade openly wondered “if the people that negotiated this have informed the president about what’s in the page-and-a-half he’s going to read publicly on Friday.”
“I would just say: we were in a much better place before we saw the details of this MOU. And unless President Trump can change this at the last minute and get good deals here, I would say that this Memorandum of Understanding is worse than not having it,” concluded Heinrichs.
“Right, next 24 hours he could go in and do that. I hope he does,” concurred Kilmeade.
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I suspect it won't be. But I also suspect that the money won't come from anyone else either. Why on earth would those who are not party to the agreement pay Iran $300B?
That means we'll have breached the agreement, Iran won't be bound to it, and we'll be right back here...except months down the road.
This "agreement" is just political nonsense.
Mediate, reporting about what scholar Brian Kilmeade has to say about Trump. When I stopped watching Fox News, Judge Napalitano and Kilmeade favorite pastime was tearing down Trump. I liked BK at one time.
“Why does anyone believe one word of any of this?”
A. Because no one in the Administration has denied it, and
B. Because the Administration is sitting on “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran [that] is now complete” since Sunday.
Pick anyone on the Right who’s defending this.
And no, I don’t mean Rand Paul.
President Trump announced that THREE DAYS AGO.
Deal? What deal? We've all seen the 14 point Iran plan. But nothing from the White House. Why?
Because Qatar and Pakistan asked Trump not to releae it.
I wonder if Trump will even release the final conditions on June 19. IF a deal is even officially signed then.
“I think some political consultants got to Trump and told him he had to focus on the midterms and get Iran out of the headlines for the next 140 days”
The Senate was sure to be lost come the 2026 election.
Not that it matters, the Republicans didn’t even bother to use Trump’s $166 billion in tariff money to send $600 to each insured driver while the Trump tariff money was still in the Treasury.
Brian Kilmeade is a globalist mouthpiece and should never be trusted.
He recently had on a ‘scholar’ explaining how the vote for Los Angeles Mayor was valid and correct and to be expected. No shenanigans to be found anywhere around here, move along.
I’m certain Obama faxes over his daily talking points.
“Keep the Baby, Faith!”
Is it globalist to take the President at his word when he declared victory?
NOT EXACTLY. which is why he wants to read it, point by point, at upcoming presser, Friday at latest. his words. there apparently is a MOU to be revealed - to be followed by 60 days of negotiations on what will comprise the DEAL.
I hope everyone understands that most of Free Republic and the Neocons in general, have long history of wanting to go to war with Iran that goes back over 40 years.
The general public not so much. The majority of people I encounter are simply concerned about gas prices and the downstream impacts. They don’t care at all about Iran and just want it to be “over”.
People on Free Republic seem fit to be tied over this - they really thought the ghost of John McCain was sitting with them singing “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran”. The Neocons thought this was it.
I somewhat understand their feelings given the average age on this site. However, you can rest assured that gas prices are all that matters to the majority of the voters.
There is no reason that this military action couldn’t be continued after the MidT erms.
There’s no way, because that’s gonna set a precedent for international waters and waterways around the world.
LOST
The Law of the Sea Treaty prohibits coastal states from imposing tolls on international straits to ensure the free passage of ships. However, since Iran has not ratified this treaty, its ability to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz remains a contested issue under international law
It’s a declaration of surrender. Iran clearly came out ahead.
Trump is stuck with trying to recreate a prosperous country out of Iran and coercing it to fall in line with living with it’s neighbors and business partners around the world. Otherwise it will end up just like Japan pre WWII.
Every deal has it’s flaws as no one can “have it all.” So there are still things to consider and the tradeoffs can seem confusing. I don’t know why they did all of it the way they did, either. But it does accomplish short term goals with others still on the docket. Work in progress. Here in the US we have been working on the Constitution for over 235 years. And we’re supposedly civilized. If Iran is shifted over to a workable agenda, it can be achieved. Otherwise, there never was any agreement and more will die.
wy69
FALSE. Fake news. Why is Kilmeade is spreading false propaganda?
BOHICA? The Art of the Deal?
Kilmeade, a well known expert on foreign policy and treaties.
Me too. I think he agreed to all of this just to get oil down for the start of summer, knowing Iran would flub and he’d get another shot at it.
The sports guy?
My suspicion is that parties who stand to make a lot of money off this deal (or stop losing money if the war ends) had Trump's ear, possibly the Saudis or Gulf States, possibly Kushner and Witkoff (the dynamic duo of failed diplomacy in Trump's second term).
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