CIA intelligence reportedly suggests Iran still seeks nuclear weapons despite Trump deal

Senior officials inside the Trump administration are expressing growing skepticism about Iran’s willingness to comply with a proposed agreement aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report published on Tuesday by Axios.

Citing three U.S. officials familiar with recent internal discussions, Axios reported that CIA Director John Ratcliffe is deeply doubtful that Iran will follow through on commitments it has reportedly made under the agreement, which is scheduled to be formally signed by senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Switzerland on Friday.

According to the report, Ratcliffe’s concerns are based on intelligence gathered by CIA sources indicating that Iran’s IRGC regime remains determined to pursue nuclear weapons and is unlikely to surrender assets it would be required to give up under the agreement.

The intelligence reportedly included internal discussions among senior Iranian officials that frequently reached conclusions at odds with the positions being presented by Iranian negotiators in talks with the United States.

"The intelligence reflects that the Iranian intentions are not in line with their commitments under the deal,” one source quoted by Axios said.

The report highlights growing concerns within parts of the administration and among congressional Republicans about the agreement's enforceability, even as President Donald Trump has moved forward with plans to sign it later this week.

Axios reported that Ratcliffe shared the intelligence and his concerns with senior administration officials, including President Trump, in recent days and that the material was discussed by the Cabinet.

According to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth agreed with Ratcliffe’s assessment and raised concerns about the agreement, while Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner supported moving ahead despite those reservations.

President Trump later announced, on social media on Sunday evening, that the deal would proceed.

Axios also reported that, in response to a request for comment, the White House said the deal “meets all of the redlines that the administration has long articulated by ensuring that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

The White House added that although President Trump always listens to everyone’s input, “everyone understands he is the final decision-maker.”

Details of the agreement are continuing to emerge. Among the provisions reported so far are relief from most sanctions imposed on Iran’s economy and the withdrawal of most U.S. military assets deployed to the region for Operation Epic Fury.

The agreement also reportedly includes a provision calling for an end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli officials, however, have said they were not party to the agreement and do not consider themselves bound by its terms.

Some senior Republicans in Congress have also expressed reservations.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters that “I just don’t know enough about it. Even the people who follow this stuff closely up here don’t know that much about it."

"I think that my understanding of what it entails, and, again, not having seen anything, it would require, I think, the issues are going to be compliance, and how are you going to enforce that,” he continued.

“The way Iran describes it, it’s awful. The way we describe it, it makes sense to me. Let’s look at it and see what it actually is,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said.

"I go into it very skeptical of the government of Iran. They learn to lie before they learn to talk. So any agreement we make with them has to have guardrails. It has to have a way to judge through independent inspection if they’re doing what they say they’re doing,” Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana added.

Meanwhile, energy industry experts say it could take several weeks for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to normal, and some shipping companies are signaling they will delay resuming transits pending further developments.