Seth Meyers has roasted President Donald Trump’s inability to explain the contents of his long-awaited Iran peace deal.
The late-night host questioned Trump’s description of the memorandum of understanding as “very strong,” while saying in the same breath that “nobody knows what it is.”
Meyers didn’t hold back in his response, joking: “What do you mean ‘nobody knows what it is’? Why not? Is it written in Zodiac code? Is it a diplomatic agreement or the list of herbs and spices?”
He went on to stress that agreements, by definition, are supposed to be understood by all parties: “With agreements, the key is that everyone knows what it is, for the purposes of the agreeing.
“This is like if you said to your bride, ‘I’m just going to do my vows in my head.’ Why won’t you say them out loud?” Meyers added.
The 80-year-old president signed the memorandum of understanding on Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles—a setting long associated with national defeat and surrender.
The agreement includes an immediate and permanent end to military operations on all fronts, the lifting of all sanctions on Iran, and the creation of a $300 billion reconstruction and economic development fund. In return, Iran commits to not developing or acquiring nuclear weapons.
The memorandum also requires the U.S. to begin lifting its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with a full withdrawal within 30 days. The blockade has contributed to soaring global gas prices.
Meyers broke down the confusing logic behind the deal in a rapid-fire monologue that seemed to give him a headache as he worked through it step by step.
“Wait, so the three goals of the deal to end the war were: ending the war, reopening the Strait that was already open before we started the war, and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which they had already agreed not to obtain under the deal you ripped up that started the war that closed the Strait you then reopened by ending the war you started.”
The late-night host was not the only one left scratching their head after Trump announced the deal, which appears to fall far short of his earlier demand for “unconditional surrender.” Senior Iranian officials are already claiming it as a victory over the U.S.
“History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is a bad idea,” GOP Senator Ted Cruz told The Daily Wire, before facing criticism from the president’s son for the remarks.
The president posted an all-caps message on Truth Social on Thursday, declaring: “OIL IS FLOWING, IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” while also exposing the fragility of the agreement before it was signed, insisting that, “If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head.”
Trump also suggested at a press conference on Wednesday that, if the deal fell apart, he would be willing to shift blame to Vice President JD Vance, 41. “If it works out, I’m going to take the credit. If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” he said.
The White House later announced that the vice president had delayed a planned Friday trip to Switzerland to lead a new round of talks with Iran following the signing of the memorandum of understanding.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
