Trump unveils his Iran deal. Some Republicans are already attacking it.

Summary

Podcast Summary: Apple News Today

Episode: Trump unveils his Iran deal. Some Republicans are already attacking it.
Date: June 18, 2026
Host: Gideon Reznick (in for Shumita Basu)

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Overview

This episode dives into major global and political developments, including President Trump’s new agreement with Iran, the initial GOP backlash, reaction from allies, and what the deal means for U.S. policy and global diplomacy. The conversation also covers the first major move by the new Federal Reserve chair, high drama in British politics that could shift the prime ministership, and other notable headlines of the day.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump's New Iran Deal: Content and Controversy

Segment starts at 00:51

• The Agreement’s Details:

  • President Trump wraps up the G7 summit by promoting a new Iran deal, formalized in a signed memorandum of understanding with 14 key points.
    • Known provisions:
      • Reopening the Strait of Hormuz
      • Mutual respect for sovereignty
      • Iran reaffirmed not to develop nuclear weapons, with uranium fuel fate to be negotiated later
      • Threat of U.S. military force as enforcement
    • Economic aspects:
      • $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, likely dependent on further diplomatic conditions, to be funded by Gulf countries
      • Sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian assets

• Trump’s Hardline Tone:

  • On enforceability:
    • “No, we're going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement. I don't want them to. I want them to honor the agreement.” (President Trump, 01:33)

• Immediate Political Backlash from GOP:

  • Some Republicans believe Trump conceded too much, too soon, and voiced unease about strengthening Iran or setting dangerous precedents for U.S. adversaries.
    • “This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder. Iran ends up stronger, our allies in the region are weaker...they can get the Western world to dance to their tune.” (Senator Bill Cassidy, 02:17)

• Points of Contention:

  • Military Ambition:
    • U.S. intended to obliterate Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, but Israeli critics and GOP hawks claim this was not accomplished.
      • Trump responds: “Missiles aren't the problem. Missiles are. They hurt a little location, but they don't blow up the planet.” (President Trump, 03:13)
  • Lack of Transparency:
    • Journalists only read portions of the deal; no text released yet, with lawmakers unbriefed, fueling frustration in Congress.
    • “If there's a treaty, we have to vote on it.” (Philip Wegman, 03:38)

• Divided Republican Response:

  • War hawks who supported Trump’s war campaign now worry about the pace and scope of sanctions relief and incomplete nuclear/DIPLOMATIC controls.
    • “They think that he is going to be defeated at the negotiation table or at very least is giving away too much too early.” (Philip Wegman, 04:06)

• Conservative Media Criticism:

  • Notably, figures like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly say there’s been no regime change nor sufficient punishment of Iran's government.

• Congressional Role:

  • U.S. law requires congressional review and potential vote on nuclear arrangements with Iran; both Democrats and Republicans show interest in asserting this authority.

• Waiting for Outcomes:

  • “It would be fair to wait until after the dust settles and to see if this peace agreement actually holds to sort of tally up the score...” (Philip Wegman, 05:07)

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2. Fed's Rate Decision and the Economy

Segment starts at 05:42

• Kevin Warsh’s First Move as Fed Chair:

  • Fed holds its benchmark interest rate steady (3.5–3.75%).
  • Inflationary pressures from the Iran conflict cited as rationale for caution.
  • President Trump’s response: “It's all right, whatever.” (06:16)
  • “We have a very good guy over there now, so I'm guided by what he wants to do.” (President Trump, 06:23)

• Change in Monetary Policy Communication:

  • Warsh signals end to “forward guidance”—no future rate hints.
    • “We've dropped forward guidance. At this moment in time, it doesn't feel as though providing forward guidance is right.” (Kevin Warsh, 07:00)
  • Announces new Fed task forces focusing on communications and inflation policy.
    • “Change isn't easy...Our number one goal is to get monetary policy right...” (Kevin Warsh, 07:32)

• Economic Cross-Currents:

  • Inflation reaching 3-year highs, but hiring also picking up—creates a tricky context for rates policy.

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3. UK Political Drama: The Unexpected Kingmakers

Segment starts at 08:11

• Tiny Electorate, Big Stakes:

  • About 75,000 voters in Makerfield, Northern England, could determine the next PM.
  • Andy Burnham, Manchester mayor, running for MP with an eye on Labour leadership and Starmer’s job.
    • “Keir Starmer has had a nightmare couple of years...members of Parliament basically want him out.” (Jack Blanchard, 08:51)

• Burnham’s Populism vs. Farage’s Reform Party:

  • Burnham positions himself as an outsider with a populist message of local control, higher spending, and wealth taxes—making him a strong contender against Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform Party.
    • “British politics is tired. It needs a new script. The people of Makerfield are going to write that script...” (British Political Commentator, 09:59)

• Implications for UK Stability:

  • If Burnham succeeds and ousts Starmer, that would make seven prime ministers in a decade—a dramatic stretch for a supposed “stable” democracy.
    • “If we do see a change of prime minister over the next few weeks, we will be onto our seventh prime minister in the UK in 10 years. That is absolutely unprecedented...” (Jack Blanchard, 10:56)

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4. Other Notable Stories

Segment starts at 11:45

• Senate Intelligence Chair Nominee Turmoil:

  • Jay Clayton’s confirmation hearing for national intelligence director abruptly postponed by President Trump, causing tension with Senate Republicans.
    • “Republicans will just have to take it a day at a time.” (John Thune/Apple News Reporter, 12:22)

• Obama Presidential Center in Chicago Opens:

  • Unique design—functions as a private library, with all presidential documents held by the National Archives instead of in the building.
  • “...prompted a comparison from one architecture professor...to something belonging to an Egyptian pharaoh.” (13:01)

• World Cup Cheers in Boston:

  • Scotland wins its first World Cup match in 36 years, sparking celebrations and a run on local beer supplies.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We're going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement.”
  – President Trump, (01:33)

• “This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder...Iran has learned that if they're willing to grab that strait of Hormuz and choke it off, they can get the Western world to dance to their tune.”
  – Senator Bill Cassidy, (02:17)

• “If there's a treaty, we have to vote on it.”
  – Philip Wegman, (03:38)

• “Missiles aren't the problem...They hurt a little location, but they don't blow up the planet.”
  – President Trump, (03:13)

• “British politics is tired. It needs a new script. The people of Makerfield are going to write that script...”
  – British Political Commentator, (09:59)

• “If we do see a change of prime minister...we will be onto our seventh prime minister in the UK in 10 years. That is absolutely unprecedented...”
  – Jack Blanchard, (10:56)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trump Iran Deal Unveiled: 00:51–05:42
• Federal Reserve Rate Decision: 05:42–08:11
• UK Political Upheaval: 08:11–11:45
• Other Headlines: 11:45–end

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains Apple News’s concise, fact-driven, and accessible tone, interwoven with direct quotes and select sharp commentary from leading journalists and political figures.

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Summary

This episode offers crucial context and sharp insight on the new U.S.–Iran deal, the resulting party divisions, big moves in economic policy, and dramatic UK political developments—all stitched together with on-the-ground analysis and revealing commentary for listeners wanting to stay ahead on the day’s top stories.

Transcript

[Gideon Reznick]

Good morning. The Trump administration reveals the fine print

[Apple News Reporter]

of their Iran deal.

[Gideon Reznick]

The Wall Street Journal explains why some

[Apple News Reporter]

within the GOP are already pushing back.

[Philip Wegman]

Their big concern is they think that he is going to be defeated at the negotiation table or at very least is giving away too much too early.

[Gideon Reznick]

The new Fed chair makes his first big decision on rates.

[Apple News Reporter]

And the small group of Brits that could pick the next prime minister.

[Jack Blanchard]

The quirks of the British political mean that the drama we're about to see unfold is really unlike anything you will see anywhere else.

[Gideon Reznick]

It's Thursday, June 18th. I'm Gideon Reznick in for Shmita Basu. This is Apple News.

[Apple News Reporter]

Today,

[Gideon Reznick]

President Trump wrapped up the G7

[Apple News Reporter]

summit, looking to sell new details of his agreement with Iran.

[Gideon Reznick]

Yesterday, officials briefed journalists on the 14

[Apple News Reporter]

key points in their memorandum of understanding,

[Gideon Reznick]

which was signed by both parties last

[Apple News Reporter]

night and according to mediators, is now in effect.

[Gideon Reznick]

Trump described it as a very strong

[Apple News Reporter]

deal, but it's already coming under scrutiny from some of his own allies. Many of the points were already known. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a mutual agreement to respect each other's sovereignty.

[Gideon Reznick]

And another key point, that Iran reaffirmed

[Apple News Reporter]

its commitment to not build nuclear weapons. The ultimate fate of their uranium would be left for further negotiations.

[Gideon Reznick]

But Trump said the threat of military

[Apple News Reporter]

force would hold Iran to their pledge.

[President Trump]

I don't think that they're going to veer from the agreement. What else am I going to do? Am I going to say I'm going to take you to court? Let me take you to court. Let me just. Let me sue you. No, we're going to bomb the hell out of them if they violate the agreement. I don't want them to. I want them to honor the agreement.

[Gideon Reznick]

But the emerging costs of this deal

[Apple News Reporter]

are already proving high for some. There were big questions about the economic benefits for Iran.

[Gideon Reznick]

Officials briefed journalists that $300 billion would

[Apple News Reporter]

go into a reconstruction fund for Iran.

[Gideon Reznick]

That money may be conditioned on further negotiations. And Vice President Vance said that Gulf

[Apple News Reporter]

countries would contribute the money.

[Gideon Reznick]

The deal also includes sanction, relief and

[Apple News Reporter]

unfreezing funds for the regime.

[Gideon Reznick]

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy told reporters the

[Apple News Reporter]

deal was a, quote, deep mistake.

[Senator Bill Cassidy]

The details that I've seen so far look awful. This will go down as a tremendous foreign policy blunder. Iran ends up stronger, Our allies in the region are weaker, and Iran has learned that if they're willing to grab that straight of Hormuz and choke it off, they can get the Western world to dance to their tune.

[Gideon Reznick]

There were also questions about whether it

[Apple News Reporter]

had left Iran as weakened militarily as the administration suggested.

[Gideon Reznick]

The White House repeatedly told the public

[Apple News Reporter]

that one of its key objectives was to obliterate the country's ballistic missile arsenal.

[Gideon Reznick]

Israeli politicians have heavily criticized the failure to achieve that.

[Apple News Reporter]

And yesterday, Trump addressed his critics directly.

[President Trump]

I have guys, I like some of these guys, but I don't think this, I don't think they're smart. Sir, you shouldn't let them have any missile. I said, well, what am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can't have them?

[Senator Bill Cassidy]

Yes, sir.

[President Trump]

It doesn't work that way. You know, it doesn't work that way. And missiles aren't the problem. Missiles are. They hurt a little location, but they don't blow up the planet.

[Gideon Reznick]

US Officials would only read out the

[Apple News Reporter]

text to journalists, providing no hard copies.

[Gideon Reznick]

Lawmakers haven't been briefed, and Trump has said the text will be made public,

[Apple News Reporter]

quote, sometime after Friday.

[Gideon Reznick]

The Wall Street Journal reports that this

[Apple News Reporter]

has frustrated some of his fiercest allies in Congress.

[Philip Wegman]

You have some members of Congress saying, wait a minute, if there's a treaty, we have to vote on it.

[Gideon Reznick]

Philip Wegman covers the White House for

[Apple News Reporter]

the Wall Street Journal.

[Philip Wegman]

And that's coming from the more hawkish voices who have been, at least in the early stages, somewhat critical of how the administration is putting this thing to bed.

[Gideon Reznick]

Wegman says many Republicans who initially supported Trump in the war are concerned the

[Apple News Reporter]

agreement could lift sanctions on Iran too soon and that it doesn't go far enough to curb Iran's nuclear capabilities.

[Philip Wegman]

Some lawmakers wanted the administration to hold those in reserve to try and get better behavior out of Iran. And what we're seeing now is that a lot of the war hawks in the Republican Party who cheered the president at the start of the war, now their big concern is they think that he is going to be defeated at the negotiation table or at very least is giving away too much too early.

[Gideon Reznick]

Beyond Washington, other factions of Trump supporters

[Apple News Reporter]

have started to break with him publicly over the course of the war, like

[Philip Wegman]

Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, conservative influential thinkers. They are saying that the administration has not met its war aims. There was not regime change in Iran. There has not been enough of a price exacted on that regime to ensure better behavior moving forward.

[Gideon Reznick]

Meanwhile, Wegman told us that the administration

[Apple News Reporter]

thinks Trump's critics are paying too much attention to reports on the agreement coming from Iranian media.

[Philip Wegman]

In this case, I think they have a bit of an argument here. I think that it would be fair to wait until after the dust settles and to see if this peace agreement actually holds to sort of tally up the score and see whether or not that regime has increased its standing.

[Gideon Reznick]

Under federal law, Congress has the power

[Apple News Reporter]

to review any Iran nuclear deal and potentially to vote on it.

[Gideon Reznick]

A number of Republicans and Democrats have

[Apple News Reporter]

indicated interest in doing just that.

[Gideon Reznick]

President Trump hoped the new Fed chair,

[Apple News Reporter]

Kevin Warsh, would quickly deliver lower interest rates.

[Gideon Reznick]

But after presiding over his first meeting

[Apple News Reporter]

yesterday, the Fed held the benchmark rate steady.

[Kevin Warsh]

The committee decided to maintain the target range for the fed funds rate at 3 and a half to 3 and 3 quarters percent in support of the Fed's dual mandate.

[Gideon Reznick]

That wasn't unexpected. The war in Iran has driven up inflation, and lower rates at the wrong

[Apple News Reporter]

time could fuel that further.

[Gideon Reznick]

In fact, half of Warsh's colleagues on the rate setting committee said that higher

[Apple News Reporter]

rates are likely on the way.

[Gideon Reznick]

President Trump was asked about the decision

[Apple News Reporter]

on Wednesday and said, quote, it's all right, whatever.

[Gideon Reznick]

And he said he trusted Warsh.

[Apple News Reporter]

If he and the committee do pursue later hikes, it could happen.

[President Trump]

I mean, it's hard to believe. It just keeps the country down, you know, so it's so unusual. But we have a very good guy over there now, so I'm guided by what he wants to do.

[Gideon Reznick]

Warsh seemingly wants to change how the

[Apple News Reporter]

central bank communicates monetary policy.

[Gideon Reznick]

That was evident in the unusually brief

[Apple News Reporter]

statement that the Fed released yesterday, which did not include forward guidance.

[Gideon Reznick]

That's Fed speak for statements about what

[Apple News Reporter]

the central bank will do, like assuring

[Gideon Reznick]

the public they will not raise rates

[Apple News Reporter]

until unemployment reaches a certain level. Warsh explained his thinking to reporters.

[Kevin Warsh]

We've dropped forward guidance. Some along the committee, I think dropped it, I suspect, from our discussion last couple of days, because they said at this moment in time, it doesn't feel as though providing forward guidance is right. Others have, I'd say, different views and think as a general proposition, forward guidance isn't the business we should be in.

[Gideon Reznick]

And that's not the only thing he wanted to change. War said that he would create five

[Apple News Reporter]

task forces that touch on everything from

[Gideon Reznick]

communications from the central bank to the

[Apple News Reporter]

very framework that it uses to understand inflation.

[Kevin Warsh]

Change isn't easy. Change is filled with risk. But our number one goal is to get monetary policy right. The way to get monetary policy right is to deliver on the remit that Congress gave us, to deliver on price stability. And there was no disagreement on any of those points.

[Gideon Reznick]

Warsh is stepping into this role in very different circumstances than when he was auditioning for it. Inflation rose to a three year high

[Apple News Reporter]

before a peace deal with Iran was announced.

[Gideon Reznick]

But at the same time, hiring has

[Apple News Reporter]

picked up, which usually removes a rationale for cutting rates.

[Gideon Reznick]

Today, roughly 75,000 people in a few

[Apple News Reporter]

former coal mining towns in England might just decide the country's next prime minister.

[Gideon Reznick]

The vote is for a parliamentary seat

[Apple News Reporter]

in a tiny part of England called Makerfield. But the man seeking the job, Andy Burnham, has ambitions far beyond that.

[Gideon Reznick]

If he wins, he's widely expected to

[Apple News Reporter]

quickly mount a challenge to lead the Labour Party and to take Prime Minister Keir Starmer's job.

[Jack Blanchard]

Keir Starmer has had a nightmare couple of years. He won a landslide election almost exactly two years ago and people were expecting him to be in power for a long time.

[Apple News Reporter]

Politico's Jack Blanchard covered Westminster for many years.

[Gideon Reznick]

He told us Starmer fell out of

[Apple News Reporter]

favor fast and he's now extremely unpopular.

[Jack Blanchard]

He's had a series of crises and now the Labour Party, the membership, the members of Parliament basically want him out.

[Apple News Reporter]

Burnham is the mayor of Manchester, but

[Gideon Reznick]

in order to run the country, you

[Apple News Reporter]

need to be a member of Parliament.

[Gideon Reznick]

So over the past few months he's

[Apple News Reporter]

made little secret of his desire to quit his current job and dislodge Starmer. But without a mechanism to do it now, he finally has an opening.

[Jack Blanchard]

So at the start of his campaign to be prime Minister is not touring the country making big speeches about what he wants to do for the uk. It's touring this tiny little semi rural district in the middle of nowhere, trying to convince a few thousand people to make him their member of Parliament.

[Gideon Reznick]

Burnham decided to quit national politics a

[Apple News Reporter]

decade ago, returning to lead his home city in the north.

[Gideon Reznick]

Blanchard said that turned out to be a very savvy decision. For one, he was able to get

[Apple News Reporter]

tangible things done while his party was in opposition.

[Jack Blanchard]

Secondly, and most importantly, in this moment, Andy Burnham's been able to position himself as the sort of anti politician. He's outside of the elite now. He's criticizing the Westminster, the British political structure. He says it doesn't work for you. And that is the real sort of populist message that chimes with people politics in this country.

[British Political Commentator]

British politics is tired. It needs a new script. The people of Makerfield are going to write that script and it's great that they're going to get that chance.

[Gideon Reznick]

But to pull it off, he has

[Apple News Reporter]

to beat the Reform Party, a right wing populist group run by Nigel Farage, the architect of Brexit and a close ally of President Trump.

[Gideon Reznick]

Ordinarily, they would probably be favorites in

[Apple News Reporter]

this contest, but Blanchard said that Burnham has cultivated a strong local brand with a kind of left leaning populism of his own.

[Gideon Reznick]

Blanchard says that Burnham now polls among

[Apple News Reporter]

the most popular politicians in the country and preaches a brand of politics that emphasizes localized control, higher public spending and wealth taxes, all appealing to the party's base.

[Gideon Reznick]

As for Starmer, he's in an awkward

[Apple News Reporter]

position because this is a fellow labor candidate, after all.

[Gideon Reznick]

That forces him to publicly back Burnham,

[Apple News Reporter]

even though he knows it will probably result in his downfall. If Burnham's campaign does succeed, it would add to a tumultuous trend in the

[Jack Blanchard]

uk British politics has been in a mess for the last decade. If we do see a change of prime minister over the next few weeks, we will be onto our seventh prime minister in the UK in 10 years. That is absolutely unprecedented in a country that's sort of thought of as being quite a stable democracy. We've seen a real period of turmoil and so in a sense, Keir Starmer is just the latest casualty in a long list of prime ministers who've been unable to grapple with the various structural difficulties Britain is facing. Economic strife, the challenges of removing itself from the European Union, the aftermath of COVID and the inflation we saw then energy crises. All these things are very real in Britain, just as they are in the United States.

[Apple News Reporter]

Here are a few other stories we're following today.

[Gideon Reznick]

It was on again, off again in Congress yesterday. Jay Clayton, President Trump's pick as the

[Apple News Reporter]

next director of national intelligence, was supposed

[Gideon Reznick]

to have a confirmation hearing, but just hours before it was scheduled, the president

[Apple News Reporter]

posted on social media that the hearing would be delayed.

[Gideon Reznick]

Technically, presidents don't have any direct control

[Apple News Reporter]

over Senate hearings, leading to a standoff with his own party.

[Gideon Reznick]

Republican Tom Cotton, the chairman of the

[Apple News Reporter]

Intelligence Committee, first said that they would proceed.

[Gideon Reznick]

Then he said that Trump had directed

[Apple News Reporter]

Clayton to not appear, a decision that Cotton called regrettable.

[Gideon Reznick]

As to where this all leaves the Senate, its majority leader, John Thune, said

[Apple News Reporter]

that Republicans will just have to take it a day at a time.

[Gideon Reznick]

In Chicago, the opening ceremony for the

[Apple News Reporter]

Obama Presidential center will kick off today.

[Gideon Reznick]

Part of the interesting backstory here is

[Apple News Reporter]

that it's not technically a library, as has been the case for past presidents. That's an intentional choice that the former president made almost a decade ago, According to the Washington Post.

[Gideon Reznick]

That means the building will not house

[Apple News Reporter]

any presidential documents, which will instead remain with the National Archives.

[Gideon Reznick]

In part, that's also a reflection of

[Apple News Reporter]

the time that Obama was President, an estimated 95% of the White House's documents never existed on paper.

[Gideon Reznick]

Aesthetically, the primary feature of the center

[Apple News Reporter]

is a 225 foot gray granite tower, which prompted a comparison from one architecture professor in the journal to something belonging to an Egyptian pharaoh.

[Gideon Reznick]

And finally, the World cup has already

[Apple News Reporter]

delivered some sensational results and plenty of heroes for smaller nations.

[Gideon Reznick]

One country enjoying their first tournament win

[Apple News Reporter]

in 36 years is Scotland. They beat Haiti 10 in Boston, and all week their fans have been making their presence known there. Fans marched around Fenway park performing with bagpipes. The Tartan army, as they're called, descended into the stadium for a specially themed Scottish celebration night, which included lots of

[Gideon Reznick]

singing and drinking, so much so that some bars say they're struggling to keep up. One manager at the Sam Adams Tap

[Apple News Reporter]

Room told NBC that he'd never seen anything like it and that they'd run

[Gideon Reznick]

out of their lager.

[Apple News Reporter]

With crowds consuming four times what they normally see on a July 4th holiday stretch.

[Gideon Reznick]

Those celebratory drinks might not last, though. Scotland plays Morocco and Boston next, a

[Apple News Reporter]

team that just secured a draw against Brazil.

[Gideon Reznick]

You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening to the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. Don't call it a comeback. Fast Company reports on how the chain

[Apple News Reporter]

restaurant Chili's made a complete turnaround with small fixes and viral cheese pulls.

[Gideon Reznick]

If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News Narrative to find that story.

[Apple News Reporter]

We'll be off for Juneteenth, but we'll

[Gideon Reznick]

be back with the news on Monday.