The White House fired back at former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday, May 23, after he criticized President Donald Trump’s looming peace agreement with Iran.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung lashed out at Pompeo in strong terms, telling the former top diplomat to “shut his st** mouth.”
Cheung said Pompeo lacks current intelligence on the matter and has no business weighing in.
Trump Says Iran Agreement Is “Largely Negotiated”
The sharp exchange came hours after Trump posted on Truth Social about a major diplomatic push.
Trump said he held a productive call with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and others. The talks focused on a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at peace with Iran.
“An Agreement has been largely negotiated,” Trump wrote. He added that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened as part of the deal.
Trump also noted a separate good call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said final details are still being worked out and will be announced soon.
Pompeo took to Xand, warning that the emerging deal looked too much like the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear agreement.
He accused it of following the old “Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook,” which he said would hand money to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and boost its weapons and terror programs.
Also Read: Truce at Last: Trump Reveals Iran Peace Deal Timeline, Strait of Hormuz to Reopen
Instead of negotiating, Pompeo called for a tougher approach. He said the U.S. should open the Strait of Hormuz by force if needed, cut off Iran’s funding, and take steps to degrade its military abilities.
He described those moves as straightforward and long overdue for any real America First policy.
That criticism prompted Cheung to respond without holding back, saying, “Mike Pompeo has no idea what he’s talking about,” and adding, “He’s not read into current intel and should shut his stupid mouth and let the professionals work.”
The public clash shows growing tension inside Republican foreign policy circles over how to handle Iran.
During Trump’s first term, Pompeo was a key figure in the “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
That included pulling out of the Obama nuclear deal, imposing heavy sanctions, and ordering the killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani.
Now that Trump is back in office, the approach appears to be shifting toward diplomacy backed by Sunni Arab states.
Also Read: Confusion After Iran Contradicts Trump’s Hormuz Claim as Details of Proposed Deal Emerge
Several Gulf leaders joined the call, suggesting they back the current effort to reach some form of agreement.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments. Disruptions there in recent months have raised concerns about energy prices and shipping safety.
Trump’s mention that the strait will be opened signals a priority on restoring stable maritime traffic.
So far, the White House has released few specifics about what the final deal might include.
Trump described it as covering “all things related to” peace between the U.S., Iran, and the other countries involved.
Will Iran’s Nuclear Program Be Part of Trump’s Deal?
Details on Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, or proxy militias in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq remain unclear.
Supporters of the emerging agreement argue that bringing together so many regional players gives the U.S. real leverage.
They say past maximum-pressure efforts failed to change Iran’s behavior and only isolated Washington from its Gulf partners.
Critics like Pompeo worry that any concessions could repeat past mistakes. They point to how Iran used sanctions relief under the old deal to expand its influence across the Middle East.
Trump’s announcement described the talks as a success built on strong relationships. However, what raised eyebrows is Trump failing to mention the nuclear issue, yet he has been insisting that the U.S. will only make a deal with Iran if it shelves its nuclear ambitions and hands over its enriched uranium.
Earlier in the day, Iranian leaders said the nuclear issue would not be part of the initial framework that the two sides are drafting.
