EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France/DUBAI (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire agreement reached this week with Iran was not final, and that he could resume a bombing campaign if he did not like it.
“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 head,” Trump said at a G7 summit in France.
“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 head, OK?”
Leaders of the G7 countries demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon on Wednesday and said they will diversify energy supply routes to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz in response to the war in Iran, as they welcomed the interim deal to end it.
The leaders met for a summit in the French town of Evian-les-Bains, an hour’s drive along the shore of Lake Geneva from where the memorandum is due to be signed at a ceremony across the Swiss border on Friday.
The US-Iran agreement is expected to launch negotiations towards a final settlement to end the war, which has killed more than 7,000 people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon.
“We underline the need for the negotiation … to address the threats posed by Iran in the region and beyond and ensure that they never obtain a nuclear weapon,” the leaders said in a statement.
The summit gave Trump a chance to present his deal with Iran to allies Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
They share Washington’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme and other issues, but never endorsed his decision to go to war, and worry Tehran has gained leverage by withstanding the superpower onslaught and asserting control over the strait.
The leaders said they were ready to contribute to the implementation of the accord, with a coalition led by Britain and France set to help secure shipping once the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
The memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran this week, though yet to be made public, extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow them to negotiate a permanent truce.
Trump appears to have achieved little of what he said he wanted at the outset of the war.
Iran’s theocratic government remains in place, its stockpile of highly enriched uranium has not been surrendered, its ballistic missile capabilities have not been destroyed and it has not ended its support for anti-Israel militias like Hezbollah in Lebanon.
