US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would not seek to extend the memorandum of understanding with Iran, claiming that while Iran wants to make a deal, “they’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary”.
The agreement aimed to end the war and restore commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy chokepoint, but negotiations stalled as both sides accused each other of violating the deal.
Pakistan brokered the memorandum of understanding, which Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed on June 17.
The president’s comments came as the 60-day negotiating period expired without an extension. Speaking to reporters, Trump reiterated that preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon remained non-negotiable for any agreement.
“Look, we’re in there for one reason: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon ... and they won’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, while floating a previous suggestion about formally declaring the waterway a US territory. “I like the idea of declaring it a territory. We have total control of the strait.”
Officials from Iran and Oman have been working on a mechanism for future maritime navigation through the strategic waterway, despite Trump repeatedly claiming that the US has “total control” of the strait.
The president had earlier threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of US efforts over Iran and the strait, in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst.
“I don’t think they’ve behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily just like we do others,” he said Monday afternoon.
Trump also elaborated on comments he made in a Sunday social media post about his calls to scale back US participation in joint military exercises in South Korea.
“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” he wrote.
A day later in the Oval Office, he expanded on his criticism of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for not providing operational support against Iran.
“When I called recently the president of South Korea ... I said, ‘Would you like to give us a little hand? We don’t need help with Iran, but if you’d like, give us a hand with Iran?’ He said, ‘No thanks’,” Trump added.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute. We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbour, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran? That’s strange.’”
According to US government figures, around 28,500 US military personnel are currently stationed in South Korea.
“We can’t go around and protect all of these countries, especially when they’re not there to help us,” Trump added.
Asked why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had not responded to his requests to have a conversation, he replied, “yeah, he has,” without providing any additional details.
The comments came as the US and South Korea started their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on Monday.
South Korea’s defence ministry told reporters that the joint military exercise was “proceeding as planned”. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
