WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s interim deal to end the Iran ‌war met scorching public criticism from some of his fellow Republicans as copies of the signed agreement circulated on Capitol Hill yesterday.

One Republican senator called the framework pact announced this week the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” another said some reported provisions seemed “ill-advised,” and some pro-Republican commentators also broke with Trump over the agreement.

The criticism was a rare rebuke from members of the Republican Party who have mostly offered full loyalty to the president, but are increasingly ‌restive as the economic effects of the Iran conflict have hurt their prospects ahead of midterm elections in November that will decide control of Congress. Democrats, who are seeking to regain control of one or both of the legislative chambers, have also been critical of the agreement. The White House sent the text of the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to members of Congress yesterday, a day after Trump signed the preliminary deal to end the war. The document, seen by Reuters, matched what had been read out by a US official on Wednesday. Lawmakers from both parties have said they want more information from the White House.

By yesterday, congressional aides said there had been no briefings for Congress on the deal or the administration’s plans, and there had been no announcement that any were scheduled.

Some of the sharpest criticism of the MOU has involved reports that the Trump administration has agreed to release frozen Iranian assets, allow the creation of a US$300 billion (RM1.2 trillion) private wealth fund to trigger investment in Iran and ease sanctions.