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• At G7, Trump defends Iran agreement, threatens to ‘bomb the hell’ out of Tehran if truce broken
• US president goes soft on Iran’s ballistic missile programme, thanks Xi and Putin for their support
• Says US forces will remain in Gulf for some time, calls on Israel to take softer touch against Hezbollah
TEHRAN / EVIAN: Iran said on Wednesday it was considering a plan for the presidents of the US and Iran to sign the deal ending the Middle East war, ahead of the expected ceremony in Switzerland.
“So far, our plans for the Geneva meeting have not changed,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.
“Regarding the signing of the memorandum of understanding, one idea is that it be done by the presidents of the two countries, which is currently under review.”
Tehran had previously said the United States and Iran would be represented by Vice President JD Vance and parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, respectively.
The remarks came as US President Donald Trump said that 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”.
He also jokingly suggested that while he would be happy to take the credit if the deal succeeded, he may blame Vice President JD Vance in case things go south.
Trump also defended the interim agreement with Iran, saying it had averted a global economic catastrophe, while warning he could launch fresh attacks if Tehran failed to honour its commitments.
Speaking at the close of a G7 summit in France, Trump also said maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz had risen sharply since the truce was announced three days ago and expressed hope it could mark the start of a wider peace across the Middle East.
“We’re going to bomb the hell out of them (Iran) if they violate the agreement. I don’t want them to. I want them to honor the agreement,” Trump told a press conference, adding that the Iranians were “smart people”.
The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and spiraled into a broader regional conflict, has driven up energy prices, renewed inflationary pressures and sparked concerns about a major food supply crisis in developing countries.
“So the one thing I didn’t want to see is, I didn’t want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened,” Trump said. He thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin for being “neutral” during the conflict, saying they had not thwarted his efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
However, Trump said the United States will leave its military in the Gulf “for a while”. He also surprised many by saying that he would allow Iran to hang on to its ballistic missiles, saying if other countries have ballistic missiles, it is “a little bit unfair” for Iran to have none.
He said that in parallel to the US-Iran deal he will discuss Iran’s ballistic missiles and terrorist proxies with Gulf nations. Trump also claimed that Syria’s leader would like to target Hezbollah with “precision” inside Lebanon.
In the same breath, he added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use a “softer touch” in the fight against Hezbollah
“We have a little dispute over Lebanon. I say you can do a little softer touch, Bibi,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “You don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”
Text of memorandum
Speaking to reporters, a senior US official read out the text of the signed memorandum of understanding with Tehran but said the parties could still walk away until a binding deal is reached. The 14-point draft, which had already circulated widely before its contents were published, extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce.
The memorandum includes an immediate end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the full resumption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, the waiving of international sanctions on Iran, and a plan worth $300 billion for the economic rehabilitation of the Islamic Republic. Iran also undertakes not to build nuclear weapons, reaffirming a vow it had made for decades.
However, Trump said on Wednesday that 60 days was not a hard deadline for a final agreement, suggesting that the talks could continue for longer.
Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2026
