'Bombings will resume if...': Trump says Iran deal not final
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has warned that the US could return to military action if he is not satisfied with a proposed agreement with Iran. Speaking at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Wednesday, Trump said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was "not final." He said if he didn't like it or if Iran didn't behave, "we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head."
Meeting details
Proposed agreement to be signed in Geneva this week
"We'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their heads. 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," the president said while addressing reporters alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the G7 Summit. The proposed agreement is expected to be signed in Geneva this week.
Iran
Deal fair: Trump
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit on the first day, Trump said the deal agreed upon was "fair" and "good" but insisted that Iran will "never have a nuclear weapon." He accused his predecessor Barack Obama of "bribing" Iran with a planeload of money to agree to the 2015 nuclear agreement. "The JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] done by Obama—he handed them $1.7bn in cash, green cash from banks, into...Boeing 757 and flew it into Iran," Trump said.
Iran
Peace deal contingent on Israel withdrawing from Lebanon: Iran
Like the US, Iran also has conditions for a peace deal to be reached. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that a peace deal is contingent on Israel withdrawing from Lebanon. "Without...withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end." A Hezbollah media relations official said it has also been assured by Iran that it will push for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in future US negotiations.
Vance
Tehran, Washington sign MoU electronically
Trump signed the agreement electronically with Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday, but the full text hasn't been publicly disclosed. But Iran's National Security Council said the deal ends fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, and lifts the US naval blockade on Iranian ports. Both sides also say negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and relief from sanctions will take place in follow-up talks during the 60-day period after the MoU is officially signed on Friday.