WASHINGTON: Senior Democratic leaders in Congress have sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s claim that a US–Iran peace deal is near, saying there is no evidence to support the administration’s assertions and that lawmakers have received no briefing on any negotiations.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Congress had not been informed about any diplomatic progress and rejected the president’s repeated claims that an agreement was imminent.

“We haven’t received any briefings and there’s no reason to believe the president at this point in time. The war is going on for over 100 days and he has said 38 different times that a deal was close or that the war was ending or that it was effectively over, 38 different times,” Congressman Jeffries said in a television interview this weekend. “There’s no reason to believe him at this point. He is divorced from reality.”

According to the Democratic leader, the reality of the American people “is seeing that we’ve lost the lives of over a dozen patriotic service men and women, hundreds have been injured. Over $100 billion in taxpayer money has been spent.”

He claimed that “Iran is actually stronger now relative to their position in the Middle East than they were prior to this war.”

Jeffries’ comments reflect wider Democratic scepticism over the administration’s handling of the conflict and its diplomatic messaging, with lawmakers arguing that repeated claims of an imminent deal have not been backed by transparency or clear outcomes.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has also criticised what he described as the administration’s shifting rhetoric between military escalation and sudden assertions of peace, saying it reflects a lack of coherent strategy.

Democrats say the White House’s repeated statements that a deal is close — made dozens of times during the conflict — have undermined confidence in its messaging and raised concerns about transparency with Congress.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2026