EVIAN, France: US President Donald Trump, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and other world leaders attend a work lunch as part of the G7 summit on June 16, 2026. - AFP
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his interim agreement with Iran, saying it had averted a global economic catastrophe, while warning he could launch fresh attacks if Tehran failed to honor its commitments.
Speaking at the close of a G7 summit in France, Trump also said maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz had risen sharply since the truce was announced three days ago and expressed hope it could mark the start of a wider peace across the Middle East.
“We’re going to bomb the hell out of them (Iran) if they violate the agreement. I don’t want them to. I want them to honor the agreement,” Trump told a press conference, adding that the Iranians were “smart people”. Earlier, he had said: “If I don’t like it, if they (Iran) don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?”
Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for being “neutral” during the conflict, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Speaking to reporters, a senior US official read out the text of the signed memorandum of understanding with Tehran but said the parties could still walk away until a binding deal is reached. The 14-point draft, which had already circulated widely before its contents were published, extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce.
The memorandum includes an immediate end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the full resumption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of a US blockade of Iranian ports, the waiving of international sanctions on Iran, and a plan worth $300 billion for the economic rehabilitation of the Islamic Republic. Iran also undertakes not to build nuclear weapons, reaffirming a vow it had made for decades.
G7 leaders hailed the agreement at their summit, held in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, an hour’s drive along the shore of Lake Geneva from where the Iran ceasefire memorandum is due to be signed at a ceremony across the Swiss border on Friday. They also demanded an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, where the memorandum calls for a halt to hostilities between the Zionist entity and Hezbollah that have displaced more than a million people.
Trump on Wednesday gently rebuked Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his tactics in Lebanon against Hezbollah. The two men have repeatedly clashed over the Zionist entity’s refusal to constrain its pursuit of Hezbollah in Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities is a key Iranian demand. “Netanyahu happens to be a good man, gets a little excited sometimes,” Trump told reporters. “We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi,” he said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.” – Reuters
Was this news helpful?
0 people liked this
