Mike Pompeo publicly blasted an emerging agreement between the United States and Iran, writing on X last night that the proposal “seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman‑Robert Malley‑Ben Rhodes playbook” and warning it would enrich Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Pompeo’s post came hours after Donald Trump said the “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” and followed a pair of news articles reporting that a U.S.‑Iran arrangement was in the finalization stage. In his message, Pompeo wrote: “The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman‑Robert Malley‑Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world.”
He did not stop there. Pompeo added: “Not remotely America First. It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region,” framing the choice as a hard‑edged security strategy rather than a negotiated settlement.
The lines from Pompeo — a former CIA director who served as secretary of state during the first Trump Administration — were followed on social channels by a sharp rebuttal from the White House communications team. Director of Communications Steven Cheung told a reporter: "Mike Pompeo has no idea what the **** he’s talking about. He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals. He’s not read into anything that’s happening, so how would he know."
The exchange exposes a clear split in public messaging as negotiations approach a supposed finish line. Trump himself posted that an “agreement had been largely negotiated subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and various other countries listed in his post,” and separately promised: "In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
That overlap of statements tightened the focus on two concrete claims. Pompeo insists the deal under discussion would effectively pay Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and leave Tehran with capacities that threaten regional partners; Trump says the deal will open the Strait of Hormuz and that final details will be announced shortly. Both positions were placed on public view in the span of hours, the articles said, forcing voters and officials to weigh competing accounts before any text is released.
Context is thin because the reported agreement remains in a finalization stage, but Pompeo tied the emerging contours to figures — Wendy Sherman, Robert Malley and Ben Rhodes — associated with the Obama‑era nuclear framework that Trump later abandoned. That reference is meant to signal that the approach mirrors policies Pompeo and others have long opposed.
The tension is stark: Pompeo’s claim that the arrangement would “Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world” sits against an administration spokesman’s blunt dismissal and the president’s own on‑the‑record promise to open a strategic waterway. Each side uses the same moment — the approach of a putative announcement — to frame the outcome in absolute terms.
The single most consequential unanswered question now is whether the deal that emerges will include the elements Pompeo accuses it of promoting — payments or concessions that would materially strengthen the Revolutionary Guard — or whether the final text will reflect the White House’s insistence that professionals have the situation under control and the president’s promise about the Strait of Hormuz. Pompeo’s public denunciation guarantees that, whatever documents are released, the debate over their security consequences will be immediate and politically charged.
