Evian (France) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he expected the accord with Iran ending the Middle East war to be signed “shortly” but cast uncertainty over the exact date. “The deal we reached with Iran on Sunday will be signed shortly, tomorrow (Thursday), maybe the next day (Friday),” Trump said at the G7 summit, after previous announcements that it would be signed on Friday in Switzerland with Vice President JD Vance representing the United States. “We are going to most likely sign a deal,” he added.
Trump told reporters at the final press conference of the G7 that he was prepared to “bomb the hell” out of Iran if they violated the agreement. “If they are not behaving they will be hit again,” he said. But he added: “They don’t want to get bombed, they don’t want to get hit.” Trump said he “might” stay in Europe for the signing but added that as a memorandum of understanding “it might not be the kind of a document I should be signing”.
Asked if sending Vance to the signing rather than going himself was to avoid blame if it did not work out, Trump replied: “I like that idea.” “If it works out I am going to take the credit, if it doesn’t work out I’m blaming JD! You better be careful JD! He is going to turn his plane around and get the hell out of here!”
Following reports of tensions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Washington “did send a copy” to Israel of the accord.
In a long succession of comments on his dealings with Iran, Trump recalled at length how he had in 2020 issued the order to kill Qassem Soleimani, the head of foreign operations for the Revolutionary Guards, who he described repeatedly as a “mad genius”. Trump also recalled the February 28 air strike that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, who he said were “having breakfast” at the time.
Trump was also asked about the deadly strike on an Iranian school in Minab on the first day of the war, which left 155 dead, according to the Iranian authorities. Initially describing the question as “strange”, Trump said: “Nobody did it on purpose. Mistakes are made, war is nasty.” “I know it is under investigation,” he said, telling the reporter to address the question to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth instead. A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the elementary school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times.
Trump also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping for staying “neutral” in the Middle East war.
© 2024 AFP
