ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President Trump confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is partially open and will open in full, but warned that the US will resume bombing Iran if the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is not adhered to by Tehran.
“The strait is going to be opening, it’s already partially open,” said Trump in the G7 Summit as Iran state media on Wednesday confirmed that two of its ships departed southern Iranian ports that morning.
President Trump noted that the “price of oil has come tumbling down” very close “to where it was before” at around $72-$74 a barrel, estimating that it could get even lower.
Trump’s remarks come two days before leaders from Washington and Tehran are due to meet in Switzerland to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a framework agreement that outlines a roadmap for lifting international sanctions, ending months of conflict that began in late February.
President Trump's remarks were immediately reported by Iran state media and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated outlets.
The resumption of exports follows reports that the US will permit Iran to immediately resume oil and fuel sales under the proposed agreement. Sanctions waivers covering oil exports, banking, transportation and insurance would take effect once the deal is formally signed, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“If they don’t behave,” stated Trump, “we’ll go back to shooting at them and dropping bombs on their head,” adding that, “they’ve misbehaved for 47 years.”
The MoU framework paves the way for 60 days of negotiations on key issues such as Iran's uranium enrichment program and the removal of economic sanctions. The US and Israel continue to press for the elimination of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Tehran maintains that it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
While CNN and Bloomberg published what they claimed was a copy of the MoU, Iran state media denied its accuracy and stated that the alleged text is not accurate and has numerous deficiencies and is missing key terms.
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