Legendary GOP operative Karl Rove warned President Donald Trump that he’s courting a “political and foreign policy disaster” in his latest column for The Wall Street Journal.

Under the headline “The Political Peril of a Deal With Iran,” Rove noted that a new Reagan Institute survey found that a majority of Americans — and supermajorities of Republicans, self-described MAGA Republicans, and independents — favor the war in Iran ending with either regime change or significant weakening of the current Iranian government, rather than a negotiated settlement of the kind being pursued by Vice President JD Vance.

“Maybe it won’t matter to his base that Mr. Trump didn’t achieve regime change and instead embraced negotiations. But it could reduce their enthusiasm. Republicans, especially MAGA Republicans, see Mr. Trump as a strong leader. Getting outplayed at the negotiating tables by America’s sworn enemy is sure to undermine that,” he argued. “Team Trump is especially vulnerable for offering enormous concessions upfront. They relaxed sanctions and allowed immediate Iranian oil sales, then said questions about inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, removal of nuclear materials, and the status of the Strait of Hormuz will be settled by mid-August. That’s just before the fall election season starts. Iranians aren’t stupid. They know the president worries about the midterms. They’ll exploit that. Tehran also thinks the U.S. won’t restart the conflict over inspections.”

“Mr. Trump also turned a blind eye to Iran’s support for terror groups, especially in Lebanon. President Joseph Aoun wants to disarm and dissolve Hezbollah, which Iran arms to menace Israel’s northern border. Vice President JD Vance berated Israel for trying to remove that threat,” continued Rove. “Two other points should worry Mr. Trump’s image managers. The proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund is effectively reimbursing Iran for the damage our bombs and sanctions caused. And offering to draw down America’s regional presence looks as if the U.S is turning tail and running. This all appears even weaker than Barack Obama’s 2015 deal with Iran.”

“Mr. Trump observed in 2020 that “Iran never won a war but never lost a negotiation.” Does he really want to help Iran add another win to that column? The president runs the risk of disappointing supporters without converting critics. That would be a needless political and foreign-policy disaster,” he concluded.

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