'Appropriate place': Rep. Moulton skewers Iran 'surrender document' signing at Versailles

Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA) tore into President Donald Trump over the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, calling the Palace of Versailles, where the deal was inked, an "appropriate place to sign a surrender document," invoking the ghost of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and its devastating consequences. "And it's too bad that the president is completely oblivious to history to understand the parallels there," Moulton lamented.

The Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, formally ended World War I but imposed onerous conditions on Germany, including massive reparations, territorial losses, military restrictions, and a humiliating "war guilt" clause. It is widely credited by historians as having fuelled the economic collapse, nationalist resentment, and political instability that gave rise to Adolf Hitler and ultimately led to World War II.

The 14-point framework U.S.-Iran MoU committed both sides to negotiating a final, binding agreement within 60 days. The deal secures the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic, with Iran committing to complete demining within 30 days and the U.S. beginning to lift its naval blockade. Iran will also regain full access to its frozen assets, along with a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran's economic development, funded by the U.S. and its regional partners.

Moulton said he was glad to see the war end but stopped short of welcoming the deal itself, describing it as a memorandum of surrender. "Donald Trump's decision to go to war has left us with 14 Americans dead, a hundred billion dollars in taxpayer money wasted, and inflation hitting families across this country. And what do we have to show for it? Nothing but a surrender document that doesn't even get us back to where we were before he started the war, while also handing the Iranians hundreds of billions of dollars in the process," he said.

The Massachusetts Democrat noted that Trump and MAGA Republicans had railed against Obama for unfreezing less than $2 billion in Iranian funds in exchange for dismantling Tehran's nuclear program and subjecting it to constant monitoring, yet were now presiding over a deal that handed Iran roughly 350 times that amount, with no firm commitments on its nuclear program in return. "Trump's next book should be The Art of the Surrender. It's just so tragic that so many have had to suffer and die for his humiliation," he quipped.

From conservative senators to progressive lawmakers, Trump's Iran peace deal has struggled to find takers at home, with critics questioning its terms, its venue, and its durability. With Israel still shelling Lebanon, the question is no longer just whether the deal was worth it, but whether it will hold at all. Trump, for his part, pushed back on any suggestion that the U.S. came to the table out of desperation, insisting it was Iran. "They are FINISHED! We'll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!" the President wrote on Truth Social.