US President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could resume military action against Iran if he is dissatisfied with the final terms of a peace agreement set to be signed later this week or if Tehran fails to uphold its commitments.
Speaking alongside Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the G7 Summit in France on Wednesday (June 17), Trump said the memorandum of understanding aimed at ending months of conflict between Washington and Tehran was not yet finalised.
“It’s a memorandum of understanding. And if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their heads,” Trump said.
He issued a further warning about Iran’s conduct under the agreement, stating: “If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their heads.”
Despite the threat of renewed military action, Trump described the US-Iran framework agreement as robust.
“Nobody knows what it is, but it’s very strong,” he told reporters.
The US president also claimed that financial markets had responded positively to the announcement of the framework agreement and predicted that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz would soon be fully operational following the signing.
“What is really happy is the [stock] market that has gone wild. It’s gone through the roof. And oil has tumbled down,” Trump said. “That speaks louder than words.”
The remarks came two days before the United States and Iran are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding intended to formally end months of hostilities.
Obama ‘tried to bribe his way out’
During the same interaction, Trump criticised former US President Barack Obama over the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, accusing him of effectively attempting to buy goodwill from Tehran.
“The JCPOA done by Obama: he handed them $1.7bn in cash, green cash from banks, into a Boeing 757 and flew it into Iran. And they stood at the plane, I have pictures of it, ‘oh my god, look at this money he’s giving us’,” Trump said.
“He tried to bribe his way out. I didn’t try to do that… You know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama and said he’s a stupid son of a b***h.”
Trump has repeatedly criticised the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration and has argued that his administration’s approach towards Iran is tougher and more effective.