'The gaslighting is impressive': Adam Kinzinger slams claims of a U.S. victory in Iran war

Former GOP congressman and CNN political commentator Adam Kinzinger slammed the claims of a U.S. victory in the Iran war, pointing out that it is Iran that has gained more privileges since the conflict started. Kinzinger scathed that those claiming the U.S. is winning are only "gaslighting" the American people, as the negotiations seem to favor Tehran despite President Donald Trump's claims. 

As several leaders in the administration, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have expressed that a new "pretty solid" deal is on the table and close to being confirmed, the Air Force veteran seemingly didn't buy into the claims. Taking to X, he wrote, "We won the war so hard that Iran now has privileges it didn’t have before we started it." He further claimed that the "gaslighting is actually impressive." He later shared the snippets of the rumoured deal in the following posts, labeling it as a "total surrender" and calling the operation "Epic surrender." 

Trump on Sunday defended the proposal on Truth Social following criticism from Democrats and fellow Republicans after certain details were reported in the media. Trump claimed that the proposal is the "THE EXACT OPPOSITE" of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the agreement that former President Barack Obama made with Tehran, which Trump pulled out of in 2018. The President added that he wasn't rushing into a deal as "there can be no mistakes!" He insisted that the "U.S. blockade of Iran's ports will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed," and that nobody has seen the deal or knows what's in it. "It isn't even fully negotiated yet. So don't listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about," he wrote. 

According to The Guardian, the proposed deal reportedly offers Iran sanctions relief and unfreezing of $20 billion worth of assets in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the critical crude oil shipping lane, and for negotiating its nuclear program over the next 60 days, starting June 5. The publication noted that at least $6 billion of the frozen assets are held by Qatar, and the center of the delay is the U.S. demand for the handover of the assets in exchange for conditional progress made in the handover of Iran's enriched uranium. The reported deal further requires Iran, the U.S., and their allies to cease all fighting, including Israel's operation in Lebanon. The publication noted that the deal is yet to be approved by Iran's supreme leader and national security council as of Sunday.

Meanwhile, during his visit to India, State Secretary Rubio said "a pretty solid" proposal was on the table in terms of Iran's "ability to open up" the strait and "enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matters." He emphasized that Trump is "not going to make a bad agreement" and, hopefully, the U.S. will be able to pull it off. "It has a lot of support in the Gulf. It has a lot of support globally; Every country that we've walked through it understands it's not just very reasonable, but it's the right thing for the world to get done," he told reporters, according to Al Jazeera.