US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that he will “do what I have to do” if Tehran fails to abide by its interim agreement with Washington.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said negotiations were still underway and the United States would monitor how the situation develops.
“If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump said.
The US president added that there would be no problem as long as Tehran continued to “respect” Washington.
“We are negotiating. We will see how things go,” Trump said.
Strait of Hormuz fully open
Trump also claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was now completely open, easing pressure on global energy markets. He said prices of petroleum products were falling following the reopening of the key oil route.
The Iran war had earlier shaken global markets and pushed oil prices higher after the US and Israel attacked Iran, and Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases.
The US president claimed that Iran’s military capability had been destroyed and that Tehran was now facing serious difficulties. “We destroyed Iran’s military capability. They are in a difficult situation,” Trump said.
US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions, according to the report.
Dispute over frozen Iranian assets
Trump said Iran’s frozen assets would be released to buy commodities, particularly food. He asserted that the money being unfrozen would return to the United States through purchases from American farmers.
“All that money’s coming back in the form of purchases of food which they desperately need. They have 91 million people, they can’t feed them. So, the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers,” Trump said.
He added that commodities would be purchased only through the United States and from US farmers.
Iran rejects US claim on purchases
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency cited Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati as saying that Tehran is under no obligation to purchase agricultural inputs from the United States under the current memorandum of understanding.
Hemmati said the remaining frozen funds would not necessarily be used only for essential goods and could also be spent on other non-sanctioned goods.
Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an interim US-Iran deal last week. The agreement came more than three months after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, followed by Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US military bases.
Comments on Starmer
During his remarks, Trump also said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had to resign due to issues such as crime and immigration. The comment came as Trump spoke to reporters on wider political and security matters alongside his warning to Iran.
