West Asia LIVE: Donald Trump defends Iran deal from critics

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. U.S. President Donald Trump. | Photo Credit: rEUTERS U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at critics of his agreement with Iran on Thursday (June 18, 2026), calling those who accused him of offering concessions to end the war “fools”, ahead of negotiations in Switzerland on implementing the deal. Oil prices tumbled after Mr. Trump and his Iranian counterpart separately signed their accord to end the West Asia war, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen but two months of negotiations lying ahead. Meanwhile, Senators are seeking to block Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funds until the Pentagon submits several overdue reports to lawmakers, including its investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it was ready to begin defining the “concrete steps” needed to implement a U.S.-Iran deal. “Now it’s for us to sit down with our American colleagues, our Iranian colleagues, and start formulating the concrete steps that will have to be taken,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Geneva. The U.S. and Iran have signed a 14-point agreement aimed at ending the West Asia conflict. We break down what’s in the deal and whether it can hold. We also look at Governor Arlekar’s maiden address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the West Bengal Opposition leader row, the Telegram-NEET case, and PM Modi’s visit to VivaTech in Paris. U.S. President Donald Trump’s deal with Iran has opened a rare breach with Republican hawks, who warn that the agreement falls far short of the sweeping victory he promised and could leave Tehran richer, stronger and still able to threaten the region. The terms have alarmed some of the same Republicans who spent years denouncing Democratic former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran as dangerously weak. They have voiced concerns that Mr. Trump is offering Iran sanctions relief, access to oil markets and the prospect of a $300 billion reconstruction fund while failing to secure firm commitments on uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles or Tehran’s support for armed proxies. Trump's Iran deal faces backlash from Republican hawks, who criticize it as a major foreign policy mistake. Senators are seeking to block Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funds until the Pentagon submits several overdue reports to lawmakers, including its investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war. According to an annual defence authorization bill, filed this week, much of the travel funds for the Defence Secretary’s office may not be spent until Mr. Hegseth submits “unredacted civilian harm investigations,” including for the Feb. 28, 2026, strike on the Minab school. Officials have preliminarily said the U.S. was responsible for the strike, which was blamed on outdated intelligence. Congress, which conducts oversight of the Pentagon, has not yet received the Defence Department’s report on the investigation. It is believed to have been completed last month. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday (June 18, 2026) that it was ready to begin defining the “concrete steps” needed to implement a U.S.-Iran deal to end the West Asia war. US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a deal on Wednesday (June 17) meant to end the West Asia war, with Tehran agreeing to dilute its enriched uranium in return for large-scale economic relief. “Now it’s for us to sit down with our American colleagues, our Iranian colleagues, and start formulating the concrete steps that will have to be taken,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Geneva. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi announces readiness to define steps for implementing the U.S.-Iran deal to end the West Asia war. U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at critics of his agreement with Iran on Thursday (June 18, 2026), calling those who accused him of offering concessions to end the war “fools”, ahead of negotiations in Switzerland on implementing the deal. Oil prices tumbled after Mr. Trump an

West Asia LIVE: Donald Trump defends Iran deal from critics

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West Asia LIVE: Donald Trump defends Iran deal from critics

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