U.S. President Donald Trump said the new agreement with Iran, expected to be signed tomorrow, is completely different from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under former President Barack Obama.
Trump claimed Obama’s deal gave Iran an easy path to eventually obtain a nuclear weapon. He said his agreement is designed to be a “wall” that prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons through development, purchase, or any other method.
According to Trump, once the deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz will immediately reopen to all shipping. He also said U.S. relations with Iran are now better than under previous administrations.
Trump stressed that no money will be exchanged under the new agreement. He criticized the Obama administration for providing Iran with billions of dollars, including what he described as $1.7 billion in cash.
He further said the U.S. would eventually recover and destroy nuclear material buried deep inside Iran’s mountain facilities, using material uncovered after past military operations involving B-2 bombers. Trump added that while he hopes the process moves forward peacefully and smoothly, the U.S. has an “ultimate alternative” if it does not.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a peace agreement is now closer than ever. He said the Islamabad memorandum is expected to be finalized within the next 24 hours and signed electronically, with technical discussions scheduled for next week. Sharif also thanked the United States and Iran for supporting the negotiations and expressed confidence that the deal could help bring long term regional peace.
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the memorandum will not be signed tomorrow. He explained that the agreement is focused on ending the current phase of the conflict and does not include any nuclear related issues.
Baghaei said Iran has not ruled out signing the agreement in the coming days, but officials remain cautious about setting a date due to hesitation from the other side. Iranian media reported the comments on June 13.
