Trump sings victory over Iran despite the lack of concrete agreement

BarcelonaDonald Trump appeared triumphantly on the stage of the G-7 summit in the French city of Évian. At the closing press conference, he assured that, with the memorandum of understanding agreed with Iran, the United States had achieved "everything they had set out to do and much more." As usual, he boasted that the U.S. military is the most powerful in the world and assured that they could have continued bombing Iran for weeks or even years, but that he stopped it to avoid "an economic catastrophe."

Among the objectives achieved, he cited three: ending the current conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. However, when asked what guarantees the text included to permanently prevent Tehran from having atomic weapons, he responded with the also usual belligerent threats: "It has to be permanent. And if not, they will be bombed." Although he added: "If you have a weak and pathetic president, maybe not..." "There's nothing forcing them, in the deal?" the journalist insisted. "It doesn't need to be there. (If they don't comply) we will bomb them severely," he said again.

Trump used the same argument when asked about guarantees that Iran will not charge tolls to ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz. "You can't cover everything in an agreement," he said, adding: "It's common sense: they don't want to be bombed."

The American president said that the agreement would "very likely" be signed, "perhaps tomorrow or the day after," although he left the door open to the possibility that it might end up derailing. "If they don't comply with the memorandum, we will bomb again. It's incredible what bombs can do," he insisted.

Details of the agreement

Shortly after, the United States government released the full text of the agreement, consisting of 14 paragraphs, through a senior government official who read it anonymously on a call with journalists. According to Efe, the memorandum stipulates the "immediate and permanent" end of military operations "on all fronts" and foresees Iran allowing free transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the US lifting the blockade on Iranian ports within 30 days, despite Trump having assured this week that Hormuz would open this very Friday. Both parties commit to negotiating a definitive peace agreement over the next two months, which can be extended.

Furthermore, Washington commits to "lifting all types of sanctions" against Iran. At the press conference, Trump said that sanctions would be lifted "when (Iran) behaves." According to the text, the US also commits to "making available Iran's frozen funds and assets" through a mechanism yet to be agreed upon. "We have kept their money and frozen it. At some point, I suppose we will have to return it," Trump said. "If we didn't return it, no one would ever invest in the dollar again," he argued.

The agreement foresees Washington developing a $300 billion reconstruction plan for Iran with its regional allies. Although Trump has assured that the US "will not give them money." "Iran needs investment. Someone will have to help them, perhaps their neighbors..., but there is no guarantee that we have to help them; we will not invest, that is fake news," he stressed.

On the other hand, the memorandum states that the Islamic Republic "reaffirms that it will not acquire or develop nuclear weapons" and commits to agreeing on a mechanism with the US to destroy highly enriched uranium under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Lukewarm criticism of Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Trump admitted that one of the risks is Israel's attitude towards Lebanon. "Peace in Lebanon is something we will have to work on a little. It's a very small piece of the puzzle, in fact, but it still makes a lot of noise," he said. "I feel very bad for Lebanon," he went so far as to say, arguing that "for the last 15 years they have been living in hell."

He launched a criticism, albeit in a mocking tone, at Benjamin Netanyahu for the bombings in Lebanon. "Bibi is a very good man, but sometimes he gets a little too emotional." "Israel has been a good partner, but they could manage Hezbollah better," he said, and he reproached the Israeli prime minister for bombing buildings in Beirut in response to a drone launched by Hezbollah in the Israeli desert "without causing any casualties." Netanyahu should be "softer" in Lebanon, Trump said: "You don't have to tear down a building every time someone from Hezbollah enters."

Trump's change regarding Ukraine

Before Trump's press conference, Emmanuel Macron, host of the summit, took the stage and stated that the agreement between the United States and Iran had received the "unanimous approval" of the G-7 leaders. "It doesn't fix everything at once," admitted the French president, but said it allows for continued negotiations. And he stressed that the most important thing is that "everyone adheres to the agreement": that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened "without tolls" and that the bombings stop, also in Lebanon. "It is vital that Iran, Hezbollah, and Israel do not resume attacks," he said.

Macron stressed that the summit marked a "real shift" in Donald Trump's stance on Ukraine. The French leader assured that the United States has "resynchronized" with Europe and Ukraine and shown its "clear will" to work together to provide "unconditional support" to Kyiv and "remobilize" pressure on Moscow, "even strengthening sanctions" on Russian oil and gas.

"We have made things evolve [...] There has been a resynchronization, a reconvergence, a cooperation from everyone," he celebrated. "There was an Évian moment," he added, and highlighted that "everyone listened with respect" to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Macron, the G-7 has noted a "rebalancing of forces" in favor of Ukraine, "while Russia retreats."

He also assured that Trump has realized that Vladimir Putin "does not have a serious will to negotiate peace." And that all participants have made it clear that Ukraine's territorial integrity must be supported, as evidenced in one of the approved declarations.

Afterwards, the American president stated that he had a "very, very good conversation" with Zelenskyy, but also "a good conversation" with Putin. "I think they both want to do something. They just don't know how to do it," he stated.

Disagreements with Trump

When Macron was asked about his relationship with Trump and a supposed seduction strategy with this evening's dinner at Versailles, the French leader replied that he has "always" trusted the American president. "I have always told him things as they are. When we have disagreements, we take responsibility. But when he has committed to us, he has always fulfilled what he promised," he stated.

Macron also downplayed Trump's constant threats, both in the military sphere and with the tariff war, which he attributed to the fact that "he wants to remind us that the United States has deterrent capacity." But he added: "In no case should partners impose tariffs on each other."