Pres. Trump promotes deal with Iran

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - After more than two months of off-and-on diplomatic talks, President Donald Trump is hailing the framework of a potential permanent peace deal with Iran. The “Memorandum of Understanding” will be officially signed by both countries in Switzerland on Friday.

However, the text of the memorandum has not been released. A senior Administration official who briefed reporters on Monday said the MOU calls for immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the U.S. naval blockade.

The President is attending the G7 Summit in Evian, France, During a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, he said the U.S. will not need much help in clearing any mines that could still pose a hazard to any cargo ships or oil tankers.

“So I don’t think we’re going to need much help, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have a ship or two out there from a few countries. You’d be a great country to do it because you never know what happens. But I think it’s going to be open and I think it’s going to be free sailing.”

President Trump also touted what he called a commitment from Iran to drop its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

“And the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. I fully agree to that with strong policing powers. And they won’t have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about, because they probably would have used it if they had it.”

A senior administration official on Monday said the Trump Administration is prepared to lift sanctions and release frozen Iranian funds if Iran reaches certain milestones in their agreement. About $24 billion of Iranian funds are frozen abroad.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill, he’s certain his fellow members are curious about the text of the M.O.U and expecting hearings to be scheduled.