President Donald Trump said at the G7 Summit Wednesday that the U.S. would not contribute to any reconstruction fund for Iran, saying that “we are not investing in it and we do not have a fund,” after backlash from Israel and its American supporters over reports of an agreement to end the Iran War, which entered its 110th day. “We’re not putting up 10 cents,” Trump said.
Earlier this week, the Financial Times had reported, citing an anonymous senior administration official, that the U.S. would create “a big $300 billion fund to rebuild” Iran if the Islamic Republic agreed to a final settlement which includes a nuclear deal.
Asked about the same fund on the podcaster Megyn Kelly’s show Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance said that it’s “the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligations.” In the same interview, Vance said that “Lebanon is included” in the framework agreement to end the war, calling it a “true regional peace deal.”
The Financial Times reported, citing an unnamed Western diplomat, that Pakistan helped make the deal possible but that “the Qataris quietly did most of the heavy lifting to bridge the two sides.” According to the report, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and Pakistan’s military chief each called Trump to urge him against more attacks on Iran and to take a deal.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said that the memorandum of understanding to end the war includes an explicit provision mandating a halt to military operations on every front, Lebanon included, alongside a built-in mechanism for responding to Israeli violations of the agreement. According to Ravanchi, that mechanism would be triggered if Israel breaks the ceasefire terms, including through strikes on Lebanon. Neither the full text of the framework agreement nor specifics on how the mechanism would function have been made public by any official.
U.S. and Iranian officials are expected to formally sign the framework agreement, called a memorandum of understanding, on Friday in Switzerland.
Subscribe Today
Get daily emails in your inbox
Israel continued to bomb and occupy southern Lebanon, with Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announcing on Tuesday that “there will be no withdrawal from Lebanon, neither by Friday nor afterward. We will remain in south Lebanon and strengthen our presence there.” Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported Tuesday that at least 3,826 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2.
In a sign that Washington is lifting its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, three Iranian oil tankers transited the waterway on Wednesday, the first time in two months such vessels have done so.
The price of Brent Crude oil sank below $80 per barrel on Wednesday amid optimism that the war is ending, while AAA reported the price of regular gas at $4.03.
Read the full article here
