White House Details Iran Deal, But Trump Warns Bombs Could Still Fall

President Donald Trump’s preliminary deal with Iran would give Tehran a path to oil sales, frozen funds and sanctions relief before a final agreement is reached. But Trump’s warning to Iranian leaders on Wednesday about what could happen if talks fail was blunt: The U.S. would bomb Iran again.

“If it doesn’t get done in 60 days, it’s all right. We go back to bombing,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t want to do that … but we might have to, because we’re never going to let them have a nuclear weapon.”

The memorandum of understanding, which White House officials said was digitally signed Sunday, gives the U.S. and Iran 60 days to negotiate a final nuclear agreement. Officials said the MOU is final and has not been changed, but emphasized that it is not the final deal. The official signing, which had been expected to happen Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, could take place sooner, Trump suggested. Vice President JD Vance is expected to represent the U.S. at the ceremony.

White House officials made clear that the negotiating window does not guarantee a final deal and that either side could walk away before a binding agreement is reached. The final deal, if one is reached, would be endorsed by a binding United Nations Security Council resolution, according to the MOU.

The MOU, according to text read to reporters by White House officials, commits the U.S. and Iran to stop military operations, begin reopening the Strait of Hormuz, work toward Iranian sanctions relief and negotiate the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

The U.S., Iran and their allies in the current war “declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” the MOU says. It also says both sides agree not to start war or military operations against the other and would “refrain from the threat or use of force against each other.”

Trump said the written agreement does not capture everything the two sides have discussed and warned that Iran would still face U.S. military force if it violates those understandings.

“We have an understanding of certain things without writing it, and if they don’t honor that, we’ll probably go back to bombing them until they honor it,” Trump said.

Under the MOU, the U.S. would begin lifting its naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic immediately and fully end it within 30 days. Iran would use its “best efforts” to allow commercial vessels to move through the Strait of Hormuz without charge for 60 days while removing technical and military obstacles to passage

The MOU would also open the door to major economic relief for Iran. It says the Treasury would issue waivers for Iranian oil exports and related banking, insurance and transportation services. It also says the U.S. would make frozen or restricted Iranian funds “fully available” once the MOU is implemented, with the details to be worked out during negotiations.

Trump reiterated his stance that Iran would only benefit economically if it adheres to the agreement.

“Any relief they receive under this deal, they’ll have to get based on merit, and it won’t be from us. We don’t have to give them anything, but some people may want to invest,” Trump said.

Trump also said the frozen funds belong to Iran and suggested the U.S. would have to release them.

“We have taken a lot of their money, and we have their money,” Trump said. “I guess we’re going to have to give it back.”

The document also says the U.S. and regional partners would develop a reconstruction and economic development plan for Iran worth at least $300 billion. The mechanism for implementing that plan would be finalized as part of the final deal.

The MOU settles some nuclear issues while leaving others for later. Iran reaffirms in the MOU that it will not “procure or develop nuclear weapons,” and the two sides would resolve the future of Iran’s enriched material through a mutually agreed process. But the MOU leaves some of the hardest nuclear questions for later, including on uranium enrichment and Iran’s broader nuclear needs.

Asked whether Iran could keep a civilian nuclear program, Trump questioned why Tehran needed one but stopped short of ruling it out.

“I’ve said to them … you have probably the third-largest oil reserves in the world. What the hell do you need nuclear for?” Trump said. “You need nuclear for some electricity?”

Still, Trump acknowledged the issue was not simple, and that squaring whether to allow an Iranian civilian nuclear program when other nearby countries have one is “always a little tough.”

Trump also suggested the agreement would not eliminate Iran’s missile program. He said the U.S. and Gulf nations would address “non-nuclear issues,” including conventional ballistic missiles, but argued Iran could not be barred from having missiles altogether.

“Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can’t have them?” Trump said. “It doesn’t work that way ... and missiles aren’t the problem.”

Until a final deal is reached, both sides would maintain the status quo. Iran would keep the current status of its nuclear program, and the U.S. would not impose additional sanctions or deploy additional forces in the region.

Asked how the deal permanently stops Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, Trump again pointed to the threat of U.S. strikes.

“When I say permanently, it should be permanently, but if it’s not permanently, we will bomb them,” Trump said. “They will be bombed, just like I bombed them on Wednesday night and Tuesday night.”

Asked whether the agreement has an enforceable mechanism, Trump said it did not need one.

“Doesn’t have to be,” Trump said. “If you don’t adhere to the agreement … we’re going to bomb the hell out of you.”