U.S. releases text of Iran agreement as Trump says war could restart
by Lisa Hornung · UPIJune 17 (UPI) -- The United States government released the text of its memorandum of understanding with Iran on Wednesday, several days after the agreement was reached.
It includes 14 points, including "the immediate and permanent termination of military operation on all fronts," provisions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and measures for easing finanicial restrictions on Iran. It also offers expectations for addressing Iran's nuclear program in future talks. CNN reported the text of the agreement, which was read out loud by an official. The United States and Iran are expected to sign it Friday.
Earlier Wednesday at a press conference in France, President Donald Trump said that if Iran doesn't abide by the memorandum of understanding, the United States may bomb the country.
The press conference lasted more than an hour, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick standing behind him.
Trump made the remark in his opening statement.
"If they don't honor that, we'll probably go back to bombing them until they honor it, you know?" he said. "It's amazing what bombs can do."
The president called the MOU the "Trump deal," and said that the deal says Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen.
He also said that if an agreement hadn't been reached with Iran, the United States could have continued the war.
"If we didn't do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another three weeks, two weeks, four weeks, two years," Trump said.
The president also defended releasing Iranian frozen assets.
"We have taken a lot of their money," Trump said. "We have taken their money; it's not our money, it's their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time. I guess we're going to have to give it back.
"As far as sanctions are concerned, at some point, you know, we have sanctions, which will never let them rebuild. They would have no money. They would be in poverty."
Trump has said the United States won't give any money to Iran, but he defended allowing Iran access to its own frozen funds.
"We're not doing anything; we're not putting up money, only if they're doing things right. If they're doing things right, if people want to invest, they can invest, but they had this $300 million fund. It's only $300 million fund; it's only if they're doing things right," CNN reported Trump said.
A reporter asked if the president would hold anyone in the administration responsible for the bombing of an elementary school for girls in Iran in late February, and he replied that it was under investigation. The strike killed more than 170 people, mostly children.
Trump responded that it was a "strange question" and said, "You're talking about a long time ago."
"But nobody did that on purpose," Trump said. "I guess you'd have to say about them, what about the thousands of soldiers that they blew up when they opened their car door? What about the thousands of people that were killed by Iran? No, mistakes are made, war is nasty, but I know it's under investigation."
Trump also offered a rare criticism of Israel, saying it could do better in its conflict with Lebanon.
"I think they could do better with respect to Hezbollah. I am not saying they should not protect themselves. I am saying when two drones are shot into the desert and dropped harmlessly, you do not have to knock down buildings in Beirut," Trump said.
"They could behave better and, frankly, they could do a better job."
"On that, I don't think they're doing well, and I feel very bad for Lebanon," he said. "Lebanon's been, you know, it was a great culture. It was a great, they had the professors, the doctors, the lawyers, it was an incredible culture, maybe the highest in the Middle East for years and years, centuries. And for the last 50 [to] 60 years, they have been just trashed. They have been, they have been living in hell."