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⚡️ Reactions from the sidelines of the G7 Summit as President Trump spoke to reporters, while JD Vance went on two morning shows to explain more about what the agreement contained, reassuring Americans that the Trump administration had a decisive win against Iran.
TRUMP COMMENTS ON AGREEMENT AT G7:
⚡️ Sat alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, President Trump told the waiting media that the deal with Iran was all signed, and the Strait of Hormuz was already partially open.
🔹 Trump said: “They’re doing a little hunting for a couple of mines that they’ve already found – ships are starting to go out now, and on Friday, it will be completely opened,” adding that the relationship with Iran had improved.
“I felt badly that we had to go back on the attack for two nights, and I thought a third, but we made the deal before that happened,” Trump said: “I think a lot of great things are going to happen to the Middle East right now,” adding that oil was plummeting down, and the stock market was shooting up like a rocket.
🔹 However, the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, Trump stressed, saying that Iran had fully agreed to that: “They won’t have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about – they probably would’ve hushed it if they had it.”
🔹 Trump said: “We have done a great job, and hopefully, it’s going to be a good relationship, and we’re going to get along – And if we don’t, we go back to where we started, but I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.”
🔹 According to Trump, the Iran deal is going to bring a lot of success to the world because the oil was really clogged up in the Persian gulf for a while: “Macron would call me on occasion and say, ‘Come on, please, let’s go to your prices,’ but the oil is coming down, so I’m very honoured.”
🔹 When asked by a reporter whether Trump would attend the signing ceremony on Friday, he replied that it depended, because JD’s coming in, and he was originally going to do it: “We’re going to be staying quite late, so I may be involved, I may not,”he said.
🔹 Asked when the text of the MoU would be released, Trump said it should be pretty soon: “I want it to be released because it’s a very powerful document, it’s not like the Obama document which was just a terrible document,” he said, adding: “I would say – sometime after Friday.”
🔹 When asked whether the deal involved any early sanctions relief for Iran, and when that would go into effect, Trump said it didn’t: “It’s really a behavioural thing,” he explained.
🔹 The Strait is ‘toll-free,’ Trump said, adding: “We had a little argument about that, but it’s toll-free, so I don’t think we’re going to need much help, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a ship or two up there – a few countries,” noting France would be a great country to do it.
🔹 According to Trump: “We do want to see if we can straighten out the LEbanon thing, because it just seems to never end, and that’s a mini version of what were doing, but it should not be tough – Hezbollah – we have to have a little talk with them,” he said.
JD VANCE ON CNBC IN RELATION TO THE AGREEMENT:
⚡️ US Vice President JD Vance spoke to the anchors of CNBC on Monday morning, saying that the US were now speaking directly with the Iranian system, and there are some good relationships developing, meaning that messages are no longer being passed through backchannels.
🔹 Vance said: “When you talk to them, you figure out what’s real, what’s fake, what they’re serious about, and what they’re not serious about.”
🔹 The VP said that the US fundamentally held all the cards: “We don’t have to give the Iranians anything if they don’t make the commitments that we want long-term on the nuclear program,” he said.
🔹 Vance added “And even if we just stopped here, what would be true? Their military is destroyed. The Strait of Hormuz is open. Their nuclear program is destroyed. And we have incredible economic leverage over them.”
🔹 The US are extending an open hand to Iran, Vance said: “If they want to change their relationship with us, we will change our relationship with Iran – that’s the offer.”
🔹 Speaking in relation to the media, Vance said that there were elements in Israel who liked the deal quite a bit, but there were hardliners in Iranian state media who aimed an article at a domestic audience trying to sell the deal, which the Israeli media pick up and run with.
🔹 Vance said: “I think when people see this deal – we hope to release the text this week – they’re going to realise that this is going to make the whole region safer.
🔹 The entire Gulf coalition hated Obama’s Iran deal, Vance alleged, because they felt it empowered Iran to be a bad actor, but they loved President Trump’s deal as they saw it as an opportunity to build and create a new Middle East.
🔹 Vance stated: “I think that new Middle East, certainly Israel, is going to have a seat at the table,” noting it was going to be great for everyone in the region: “But most importantly, we think it’s going to be great for the American people,” he added.
🔹 According to Vance, the agreement is fundamentally built around a two-step verification process: “We say to the Iranians, ‘you are welcome to have access to an unsanctioned economy, you’re welcome to be re-invited into the world economy,’ but only if Iran honour the commitments made in this agreement.”
🔹 Vance continued: “We are saying to the Iranians: If you negotiate in good faith and make a long-term commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, then we’re going to make sure you’re country is successful.”
🔹 “However,” he added: “If they refuse to meet us halfway, we’re going to continue applying the pressure that we’ve seen build up economically, particularly, and that’s going to be bad for them.”
JD VANCE ON ABC IN RELATION TO THE AGREEMENT:
⚡️ In a separate interview on ABC’s Good Morning America, Vice President JD Vance was told by Stephanapoulos that President Trump had earlier said there would be ‘no deal without Iran’s unconditional surrender,’ asking what happened to reverse this course.
🔹 Vance responded saying that Trump didn’t reverse course: “Fundamentally, Trump’s argument was that we’re going to use the military to exert pressure on Iran, and we’re going to get something good for the American people- and now we have that.”
🔹 Trump wanted to get the US to a place where “we could fundamentally change our relationship with the Iranians and ensure that they never have a nuclear weapon,” not just for the last six weeks, but for the last year and a half, adding: “We feel that we’re at that place now.”
🔹 Vance confirmed the text of the agreement would be released this week, noting that within the agreement, Iran doesn’t get a dime of money unless they performed their obligations, and the money that’s being spoken about is fundamentally a sanctions relief.
🔹 The VP said: “We’re not giving them American money – not a single dollar of American money will go to Iran,” adding: “We are willing to give significant sanctions relief it the Iranians make the kind of long-term commitments that are necessary to be a normal country, to give up their nuclear weapons program, and to stop funding terrorist activities across the Middle East.”
🔹 Vance confirmed the agreement had been signed digitally on Sunday, and no money had been released: “That won’t change,” he said, stating it was a performance-based term: “If we see the Iranians taking action to eliminate their stockpile of enriched material and allow the kind of verification regime that we need to see to know that they’re not going to build a nuclear weapon, then yes, sanctions relief will follow.”
🔹 Asked by CBS whether the Iranians were likely to get access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund, and Vance said it was the sort of thing that Iran could have access to, as long as they honour their end of the obligation: “Trump wants to turn over a leaf withIran of 47 years of failed relationship between the US and Iran, but that requires the Iranians to actually honour their end of the bargain,” he added.
🔹 Vance said that the US were open to Gulf countries investing in Iran’s reconstruction, but only if Iran ends their nuclear program, ends their enriched stockpile of material, and was really open to an inspections and enforcement regime that gave American people the confidence they’re never going to have a nuclear weapon.
🔹 The VP concluded, saying that the Iranian media, especially the hardline media, are going to talk about what they get without talking about what they give – it’s important for everyone that the narrative was corrected.
