President Trump on Tuesday said second-stage talks over Iran’s nuclear program will unfold rapidly after a preliminary deal is inked Friday and that “all hell will rain down” if Tehran violates its commitments.
Mr. Trump, traveling in France for the Group of Seven summit, said he would release the text of the first-stage deal soon and took pains to clear up misunderstandings.
He said Iran won’t receive U.S. funding or investments, and the Strait of Hormuz would remain toll-free in perpetuity.
“It’s toll-free beyond the 60 days,” he said, referring to the timeframe of nuclear talks. “It’s toll-free, period.”
Members of Congress and the media are itching to see the plain text of the memorandum of understanding that Mr. Trump and a top Iranian official signed late Sunday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the American naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Barely anyone has seen the deal, raising suspicions it might not be as good as advertised, though Mr. Trump said everyone can see it at least by Friday’s planned signing.
SEE ALSO: Trump: U.S. will not invest in Iran as questions swirl over $300 billion reconstruction fund
“I’ll probably have a press conference and read it to you word by word so that the press covers it accurately,” he said.
The preliminary deal alleviates economic pressure on both nations and sets the stage for restricting Iran’s nuclear program.
“The ships are starting to move now. We’re going to have it fully opened by Friday,” Mr. Trump said. “Oil is starting to go, and the prices are coming down rapidly.”
Iran would be allowed to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the memorandum, with sanctions relief taking effect after the agreement is signed on Friday, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
A senior U.S. official said the agreement is “performance-based” and Iran would not get any benefits unless it satisfies terms, “including no nuclear weapon, neutralizing its enriched material, and not interfering with the free flow of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Mr. Trump said a 60-day period of nuclear negotiations would kick off immediately.
“Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business,” he said. “I think it’s going to go pretty quickly. It could take longer, but it could go fast.”
Mr. Trump said the U.S. is capable of retrieving the “nuclear dust” — the enriched uranium buried from previous U.S. strikes — from Iran’s mountains but is in “no rush” to dig it out.
He said the Americans, and possibly the Chinese, are the only ones able to excavate the material, and it’s under close surveillance.
Vice President J.D. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to attend Friday’s deal signing in Switzerland.
Critics say it simply returned the U.S. to the prewar status quo, accomplishing nothing.
But Mr. Trump said the deal says “loud and clear” that Iran cannot develop or purchase nuclear weapons.
“If they do, all hell will rain down on them. They are not going to do that,” Mr. Trump said during a bilateral meeting with the emir of Qatar.
The U.S. and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Early strikes killed top Iranian leaders and decimated the country’s military.
Iran retaliated by restricting oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, causing energy shocks and higher gas prices in the U.S.
American negotiators struggled to reach a consensus with a fractured Iranian leadership, though Mr. Trump said they found a trustworthy group.
“They are not radicalized and [are] looking to help their country,” he said.
The president on Tuesday confirmed that the U.S. would not pour funds into Iran as part of the preliminary agreement signed this week, even as Tehran says that Washington agreed to assist in rebuilding the country.
“We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way. That rumor that got out there yesterday, it was ridiculous,” Mr. Trump said.
His comments echo those of Mr. Vance, who said other countries in the region would pick up the bill for the rumored $300 billion postwar reconstruction effort.
Specifically, Mr. Vance told CBS that Gulf-region countries would be the ones to assist Iran in rebuilding after more than three months of war with the U.S. and Israel.
“That’s the sort of things they could have access to so long as they honor their end of the obligation,” Mr. Vance said of the Iranians.
Qatar, which played a significant role in negotiating the preliminary deal between the U.S. and Iran, said Tuesday that it had not allocated any funds for the reconstruction effort.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters that he did not expect the region to return to “business as usual” after the war concludes, adding that “there is a lot of need for dialogue and for agreement over how to guarantee the security of our region.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said it’s bizarre that no one knows what’s in the plain text of the deal. He called on the administration to deliver a briefing to members of Congress, starting with the Gang of Eight, which includes leaders and senior intelligence committee lawmakers in both parties.
“I’m calling on Trump to inform the American people on whatever his understanding with Iran involves, and he should do it immediately so we all know what the heck is going on,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor. “We’re in the middle of a war, no one quite understands what Trump is up to. And now, he’s keeping everyone in the dark.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and national security hawk, said he hopes Mr. Trump’s effort to “forever foreclose” Iran’s nuclear ambitions is successful. Further, he wants more Middle East nations to normalize relations with Israel through Mr. Trump’s Abraham Accords.
“The ultimate win for taking on Iran is to open up a pathway to peace through Abraham Accord expansion and build on regional integration,” Mr. Graham said on X. “If the conflict with Iran yields this outcome, it will be one of the most successful military operations in American history.
One of the major sticking points in talks, beyond whether Tehran can be trusted in nuclear talks, has been Israel’s assault on Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.”
Mr. Trump broke sharply with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, declaring Israel has been “fighting Hezbollah too long” and killing too many civilians in Lebanon.
“If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job,” Mr. Trump said of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. “Syria will do the job.”
The president said Israel has been “fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed,” and criticized the tactic of striking apartment buildings.
“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody,” he said, “because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah.”
Mr. Trump said he personally urged Israel to have Syria take over the role of fighting Hezbollah.
“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it,” he said.
The president said he was unhappy with an Israeli attack on Beirut that occurred as he was negotiating the U.S. peace deal with Iran, and he let this be known to Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Trump said his relationship with Mr. Netanyahu is “unbelievable,” but said, “Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
Israel signaled Monday it had no intentions of stopping combat operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite the U.S.-Iran deal promising a ceasefire on all fronts.
Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, wrote in a statement that he and Mr. Netanyahu were opposed to withdrawing Israeli forces from Lebanon.
“Holding territory and maintaining security zones are among the IDF’s greatest achievements in the War of Revival, under the decisions and guidance of the political leadership,” Mr. Katz wrote, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“Therefore, we oppose an IDF withdrawal from Lebanon, despite all existing pressures and those that may still come.”
Mr. Katz said Mr. Netanyahu made his position on withdrawal clear to Mr. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in conversations on Sunday.
