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The US president told the G7 that he would ‘go back to bombing’ if a full agreement was not struck within 60 days
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President Donald Trump has said that the world would have been plunged into “economic catastrophe” if he did not strike a peace agreement with Iran.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France, the US president said that if the war had kept going, then a sharp economic downturn “could have happened” due to the oil price shock created by the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.
“All I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship. It never went down. They didn’t like it,” he said.
During a rambling speech focusing on the agreement with Iran, set to be signed on Friday, he said he did not wish to have the reputation of former US president Herbert Hoover – who led the country at the time of the Great Depression.
It follows the leak of a 14-point document reported to be the same as one digitally signed by the US leader, a US official shared with CNN.
Meanwhile, Israel reportedly struck targets in southern Lebanon again on Wednesday, brushing off warnings from Trump and threatening to derail the US peace process with Iran.
Donald Trump has now claimed that the US prevented a nuclear holocaust by launching its war on Iran.
“Think of what Israel’s getting – they’re not going to be nuked,” Trump said.
“I told Bibi [Netanyahu], the biggest risk was that [Iran] drop a nuclear weapon into the middle of Israel. They’d only need one, and there would be no war.”
The US president added: “We stopped nuclear holocaust, and it stopped. There’s not going to be any of that.”
Preventing the development of Iran’s nuclear programme, and stopping the Tehran regime from producing a weapon, was always hailed as one of the key aims of Trump’s war.
But Iran has consistently denied that it is seeking to produce a nuclear weapon, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) states there is no evidence that Tehran is actively seeking to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
The IAEA, however, says it cannot verify that the programme is exclusively peaceful as Tehran is enriching uranium to high purities and has limited access for inspectors.
We’ve heard from French president Emmanuel Macron, who earlier gave a speech at the G7 summit.
He said that it is vital that Iran, Hezbollah and Israel do not resume fighting, adding that he supported a preliminary deal between the United States and Iran to end their war.
“It’s a good deal and one that we back,” said Macron.
Trump has now said his new pact with Iran will be signed shortly and that Iran wants to sign a deal.
“So, the deal we reached with Iran on Sunday will be signed shortly, tomorrow, maybe the next day,” he tells reporters in the G7.
Earlier in the day, the US president had said his new agreement with Iran was not final and he could resume the war if he is unsatisfied.
Trump now criticises Israel for its conduct in Lebanon, saying they “could behave better” and that he feels “very bad for Lebanon”.
It is a long-winded speech and doesn’t seem close to ending – one of those in which the US president appears to be paying little heed to a script in front of him.
“I’m not saying they shouldn’t protect themselves when two drones are shot into the desert, [but] you don’t have to knock down buildings in Beirut,” he says.
“They could behave better, and frankly, they could do a better job. I love them as a partner.
“They could do a much better job with Hezbollah. I feel very bad for Lebanon,” he adds.
“Lebanon has been a great culture. It was a great, they had the professors, the doctors, the lawyers. It was an incredible culture. For the last 50/60 years they have been just trashed.”
Donald Trump has now spoken on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he said is an “amazing prime minister”.
The US president had grown increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu after Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, which have brought jeopardy to the fragile truce between Washington and Tehran.
“Bibi Netanyahu, who happens to be a good man, gets a little excited sometimes, but he happens to be a very good man who had an amazing partnership. He’s been an amazing prime minister,” Trump says.
“We have a little dispute over in Lebanon. I say he can do a little softer touch, you don’t have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”
The US president adds that it has been an “amazing partnership”, adding that “we’re the big partner, he’s the very small partner”.
Donald Trump is holding a press conference at the G7.
The US president says he could have continued dropping bombs on Iran for two years – but did not want to provoke an “economic catastrophe”.
World leaders have flocked to thank him for ending the war, and have stated that they love the peace deal, he claims.
He also claims that there has been a form of regime change in Iran. “I think they’re going to behave much differently. I think they see a different way of life that they would never expose to,” Trump says.
Stay with us for the latest lines.
As Donald Trump crows about peace in the region, ominous signs are coming from Israel and Hezbollah, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew:
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has said that the issue of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz should be properly addressed, an official Chinese statement showed, following a call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
Wang also reiterated China’s welcome for the memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the United States, and voiced support for Iran safeguarding its sovereignty and security, according to the statement.
An emerging peace agreement between Donald Trump and Iran will allow Tehran to begin selling oil and fuel immediately, US officials said, in what appeared to be a major concession from Washington to end the conflict.
An official told Reuters that Tehran would be permitted to sell its oil after the memorandum of understanding is signed this week, in return for Iran allowing free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and not attempting to acquire a nuclear weapon.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran would receive sustained relief from sanctions if it abided by key US demands. Officials told the newspaper that they believed “sweeteners” were required for Iran to accept a deal.
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