US President Donald Trump has threatened to resume military action against Iran if he ‘doesn’t like’ the memorandum. He made these remarks at the G7 summit in France on 17 June, according to Reuters and Sky News.
“This is a memorandum of understanding. If I don’t like it, we’ll start shooting at them again and dropping bombs on their heads. If they don’t behave themselves, we’ll go straight back to dropping bombs,” Trump said.
As Sky News notes, this came shortly after Trump reiterated that he considers potential agreements to be “a great deal for many reasons”.
According to the US president, the agreement between the two countries should not be regarded as final. Furthermore, the signing of the document does not imply the immediate lifting of sanctions against Iran, Trump added.
Earlier, Bloomberg and Al Arabiya had published a draft memorandum of understanding consisting of 14 points, which Washington and Tehran intend to sign on 19 June in Switzerland.
The document provides for a 60-day ceasefire, including in Lebanon, with the possibility of extension, to allow for a final agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme to be reached.
During these 60 days, Iran must lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and clear the mines. The US must lift its naval blockade of Iran within 30 days and withdraw its troops within 30 days of a final agreement being reached.
In the document, Iran confirms that it ‘will never produce nuclear weapons’. The parties have agreed that all issues relating to the nuclear programme, in particular the fate of enriched uranium, will be addressed in the final agreement. Should such an agreement be reached, the United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to draw up a plan for Iran’s reconstruction and economic development, whilst providing funding of at least $300 billion, and to lift ‘all types of sanctions’, including UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA decisions.
Furthermore, the US undertakes to unfreeze Iran’s frozen assets and make them fully accessible for use by Tehran. At the same time, the US will, immediately after the memorandum is signed – that is, before the conclusion of the negotiations on the nuclear programme – effectively suspend sanctions against Iran in the oil sector.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim, citing a source within the Iranian negotiating team, claims that the text of the memorandum published in the press contains numerous inaccuracies, for example, in the clause concerning the Strait of Hormuz.