President Trump on Wednesday issued a fiery defense of his deal with Iran, lashing out at critics who have said the agreement achieves even less than the one President Barack Obama negotiated, and threatening to bomb Iran again if it doesn\u2019t adhere to the agreement.<\/p>\n
Appearing at the Group of 7 summit of global leaders in \u00c9vian-les-Bains, France, Mr. Trump denied that the United States was, in effect, paying Iran to agree to the recently negotiated peace<\/a> deal. And in an expletive-laden rant, he proclaimed that his deal was better than the one Mr. Obama signed with Tehran in 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama, and they said, \u2018He\u2019s a stupid son of a bitch,\u2019\u201d Mr. Trump said.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for Mr. Obama said he would not be commenting on Wednesday, but referred to his remarks from an interview<\/a> with ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d over the weekend. In it, he said that he doubted that the new deal would be \u201csignificantly different or a significant improvement\u201d from the one his administration negotiated. He said that it was a reminder that the United States cannot just \u201cbully our way or bomb our way to solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s remarks came as a senior U.S. official disclosed what the official said was the full text of the deal<\/a>. The official read it aloud on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.<\/p>\n The deal would, among other things, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, outline a $300 billon plan for Iran\u2019s reconstruction and at least temporarily lift restrictions on the country\u2019s oil exports, according to the official. But it would push talks about Iran\u2019s nuclear program \u2014 the central reason given for the U.S.-Israeli attacks that began in February \u2014 into a 60-day negotiation period.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump had denied reports that the deal included U.S. investment<\/a> in the reconstruction fund or any immediate sanctions relief, two of the points that have drawn the most attention. But the $300 billion fund it outlines could provide Iran with much more money than the deal Mr. Obama negotiated.<\/p>\n The deal says the United States will work with regional partners to \u201cdevelop a definitive, mutually agreed plan with at least\u201d $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development of Iran. The fund will go into effect once a final deal is reached within 60 days, the agreement states.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump left open the possibility that Persian Gulf states could provide the money for the fund. Mr. Trump has railed against Mr. Obama for providing $1.7 billion in cash to Iran after the 2015 nuclear agreement was signed.<\/p>\n But he said on Wednesday that the U.S. military had so badly damaged Iran during the war that the country needed help.<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike Barack Hussein Obama, who sent Iran pallets of cash, any relief they receive under this deal, they\u2019ll have to get based on merit \u2014 and it won\u2019t be from us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have to give them anything. But some people may want to invest.\u201d<\/p>\n A diplomat said that work on the fund was already underway.<\/p>\n Commitments amounting to half of the $300 billion figure have already been made, including from companies in the United States, the Middle East, Asia, South America and Africa, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.<\/p>\n The fund would be a conduit for private investment, not a reconstruction or reparations program, the diplomat said. Details about the funding pledges were initially reported by Reuters.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance electronically signed a framework agreement on Sunday, along with the speaker of Iran\u2019s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led that country\u2019s negotiating team, a senior U.S. official said.<\/p>\n Asked by The New York Times as he was leaving the Palace of Versailles with President Emmanuel Macron of France on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he had signed the document. The White House confirmed that he signed the document on Wednesday, but did not explain whether the document was different from the one he and Mr. Vance signed digitally on Sunday.<\/p>\n American and Iranian leaders were expected to formally sign the agreement in Switzerland on Friday. But the spokesman for Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, said that while Iran\u2019s president had \u201cdigitally\u201d signed the memorandum of understanding, the signing ceremony in Switzerland would not happen after all, according to official Iranian news media.<\/p>\n