WASHINGTON, JUN 16: US President Donald Trump maintained on Tuesday that an interim accord with Iran makes clear that Tehran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and he also suggested Syria could be better positioned to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Speaking alongside Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Trump defended the 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran that has yet to be made public.
“The only thing that really matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it loud and clear,” he told reporters, warning that “all hell will rain down” on Iran if it sought to acquire one.
Trump also said that the US has “no obligation” to invest in Iran even after its deal with the Islamic Republic to end the Middle East war.
“We are not investing any money” in Iran, Trump said.
US and Iranian officials are due in Switzerland on Friday to begin detailed negotiations, opening a 60-day window for complex technical talks. These are expected to cover issues such as the future of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and the lifting of sanctions.
European allies have voiced concern that an inexperienced US negotiating team could struggle to secure a robust agreement, potentially leading to a prolonged standoff.
In 2015, former US President Barack Obama secured a nuclear deal with Iran in exchange for sanctions relief, a process that took two years to finalise. Trump withdrew the United States from that accord during his first term.
“This deal is a wall to a nuclear weapon. His (Obama) deal was a road to a nuclear weapon. My deal, they can’t have a nuclear, they get blown up,” Trump said.
Diplomats and analysts note that Iranian negotiators are highly skilled in nuclear diplomacy, often exploiting weaknesses in their counterparts and buying time to advance their agenda, making the prospect of a comprehensive agreement within 60 days challenging.
One key factor in whether the interim accord holds will be the situation in Lebanon, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his troops would remain in the south as long as needed to tackle Hezbollah. Tehran has demanded an Israeli
withdrawal.
Trump appeared critical of Israel’s strategy in Lebanon and also suggested that neighboring Syria – which under President Ahmed al-Sharaa is struggling to stabilize the country after years of civil war – could be best placed to intervene.
“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because to be honest, I think they do a better job of doing it,” he said.
Speaking later in the day during his meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Trump reiterated that the memorandum of understanding with Iran states clearly that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
Trump also said that he will release the text of the US-Iran memorandum in a formal setting.
The president also said he likes the idea of sending the Iran deal to Congress for review, a request by some Republican lawmakers.
“I never thought about sending it, never even thought about it, but I will,” Trump told reporters. “I will send it to Congress. I like the idea.”
The US deal with Iran is an agreement to hash out details in the coming weeks.
“I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters about the next phase of negotiations with Iran.
“Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business, and the relationship is now normalized, so I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump added. “Could go faster, could take longer too, but it could go fast.”
