in brief
MAGA allies have claimed the Iran deal is a significant improvement to the one secured under Obama.
Critics, including in Israel, have lambasted the Trump administration's efforts.
United States President Donald Trump's deal with Iran has been sharply criticised by detractors in Israel as well as some Republican hawks, who say the agreement falls far short of the sweeping victory he promised.
Critics said it could leave Iran richer, stronger, and still able to threaten the region.
The memorandum of understanding, signed by Trump in France on Thursday, aims to end months of conflict, reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, and stabilise energy markets after a war that drove up oil prices and raised fears of a wider Middle East crisis.
But the terms of the agreement have alarmed some of the same Republicans who spent years denouncing former US President Barack Obama's 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran as dangerously weak.
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They have voiced concerns that Trump is offering Iran sanctions relief, access to oil markets, and the prospect of a US$300 billion ($427.3 billion) reconstruction fund while failing to secure firm commitments on uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles, or the country's support for armed proxies.
When he launched the war nearly four months ago, Trump said he aimed to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program, end its ability to strike its neighbours, prevent it from supporting allied militants in the region, and make it possible for Iranians to topple their hardline leaders.
Though he initially demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender", Trump ultimately signed the agreement with none of those objectives met.
The deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach an agreement on the status of Iran's nuclear program and limit its long-range missiles.
Traffic flows through Hormuz as deal takes effect
Oil tankers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, and the US said it lifted its blockade on Iran on Friday as the interim deal took effect.
Oil prices dropped to their lowest level since the war began on 28 February, as analysts said exports through the strait — which handles about one-fifth of global oil supply — could return to normal in the coming months.
US vice president JD Vance said the 60-day window "officially started today" while addressing reporters at the White House on Friday.
Asked what happens after the 60-day period regarding the governance of the Strait of Hormuz, Vance reiterated the US view that the major supply route for oil and gas shipments should be free of tolls.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Trump signed the deal "out of desperation" and signalled that upcoming nuclear talks would not be easy.
"If the American side wants to be too demanding, we will not accept it," he said in a written message.
Vance sharply rejects Israeli critics of US-Iran deal
Asked at the White House news briefing about a report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fuming over the agreement, Vance said he had not heard such comments from Netanyahu but criticised members of the Israeli leader's cabinet, who he said have opposed the deal and personally attacked Trump.
"My message to them would be twofold. Number one: Donald J Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time," Vance told reporters at the White House.
"If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world."
He said he would also remind those cabinet members that two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel "have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars".
Trump has repeatedly criticised longtime ally Israel, spiking tensions nearly four months after the two countries partnered to attack Iran.
The US provides Israel with roughly US$4 billion ($5.7 billion) in military assistance a year, but the two countries are negotiating a new aid agreement.
"The problem for Israel is not Donald J Trump and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in," Vance said.
Netanyahu's office and Israel's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israeli senior officials, speaking anonymously, have said the deal terms were bad for Israel because they failed to address concerns over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, a view they say is shared across Israel's leadership.
In his first comments since the deal, Netanyahu said at a public event that Israel appreciated its relationship with the US but would continue to occupy southern Lebanon to maintain security for citizens living near Israel's northern border.
"This require…
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