The United States and Iran are discussing moving up the start of their memorandum of understanding to tonight, between Wednesday and Thursday, instead of Friday, Axios reported. The change would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen earlier than planned and would also make the contents of the understanding public. The report said no final decision has been made, but if the timetable is advanced, the document would be signed again electronically.
Speaking after the G7 summit in France, President Donald Trump said, "We could have dropped bombs on Iran for two more years and Hormuz still would not have opened." He also claimed that no country asked Washington to keep bombing Iran, and said, "Only stupid people say things like that." Trump said a copy of the memorandum had been sent to Israel and described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "a little excited sometimes, but he was a good partner."
Trump said the agreement was reached Sunday and claimed it blocks Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and from buying or developing them. He credited the deal to the killing of Qassem Soleimani and said Iran agreed after suffering "two big hits." He also said, "If I am not satisfied, we will go back to dropping bombs on Iran's head." Later, he softened his stance on Iran's ballistic missiles, saying Iran should have some because other countries do, and said work would continue with Gulf states on non-nuclear issues such as missiles and Iranian proxies.
The president again thanked Israel and Netanyahu, but repeated criticism of Israeli operations in Lebanon, saying Israel should act with more restraint. He also suggested Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa could handle Hezbollah more precisely than Israel does. In parallel, Axios reported that U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance is expected to meet on Friday with Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to begin discussing the nuclear issue. Iran, meanwhile, said it will keep control of the Strait of Hormuz and charge fees for passage, with Deputy President Mohammad Reza Aref saying Tehran will manage the strait and collect payment for safe transit.
