Though he remained optimistic about the ongoing negotiations with Iran, US President Donald Trump said on Friday (local time) that any agreement with the Islamic Republic will take place only when it is completely finalised. This comes just hours after he said talks with Iran will likely be held over the weekend, which might also involve Lebanon and Israel.
Addressing a gather at the Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona, Trump said also spoke about Iran's decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a tiny waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman from where one-fifth of world's crude passes through, reiterating that blockade on Iranian ships and ports will stay into force for now.
"The naval blockade with the greatest navy in the world, from the greatest military the world has ever seen, we built it. During my first term, we built it... We'll remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100 per cent complete and fully signed," the 79-year-old Republican leader said.
US to bring Iranian uranium 'back home'
In his address, the US president also reiterated that his claim that Iran has agreed to handover its enriched uranium and the Americans will remove it from Tehran's nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal. Though it should be mentioned here that Iran's Foreign Ministry has said that the country's enriched uranium would not be transferred.
"Somebody said, how are we going to get the nuclear dust? We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," Trump said. "We need the biggest excavators you can imagine. But we're going to go in together with Iran. We're going to get it. We're going to take it back home to the USA very soon."
US brokered Lebanon deal
Trump also claimed that it were the Americans who helped in brokering a peace deal in Lebanon and stopped Israel from bombing the Middle East nation. A ceasefire in Lebanon was one of the demands of Iran during the recent talks with the US in Islamabad. Iran has been pressing for a ceasefire, calling for Israel to end all hostilities to end there.
"Yesterday, we achieved what everyone said was impossible, an unprecedented ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. That hasn't taken place in 78 years. Our deal with Iran is not in any way tied to Lebanon, but we will make Lebanon great again," the president said.
