Kamal Ghorui
TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Iran has agreed to give up its enriched uranium and reopen the Strait of Hormuz – in return for unspecified rewards and concessions, according to reports. In a series of social media posts that was neither confirmed nor contested by Iran, Trump said the United State “will get all Nuclear ‘Dust,’ created by our great B2 Bombers – No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form.” A report in the journal Axios had said Washington was considering a $20 billion cash-for-uranium exchange.Trump also told Reuters in an interview that the US will enter Iran at a “leisurely pace” to recover its enriched uranium and bring it back to the US While the deal-hungry US President appeared to be referring to the enriched uranium that has been entombed by the US-Israeli bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, there was no mention of other Iranian uranium, much less the centrifuges, domain expertise, and knowledge base that will enable Tehran to resume enrichment any time it wants.Earlier on Thursday, Trump told reporters in the White House that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and “they’ve agreed to that… very powerfully.” Iran has publicly forsworn nuclear weapons on several occasions but has said that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to a civilian nuclear program.Distrust of Tehran’s pledges is at the heart of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, and Trump’s claim of an imminent deal did not provide any details or clarity on how this issue would be resolved. Iran has also demanded removal of sanctions, return of its assets frozen by the US, and reparations for damage cause by the US and Israeli attacks. Trump did not refer to any of these demands in his triumphant posts.Trump also contested the Iranian claim that re-opening of Hormuz was contingent on the ceasefire in Lebanon, saying “This deal is in no way subject to Lebanon, either, but the USA will, separately, work with Lebanon, and deal with the Hezboolah situation in an appropriate manner.” He however offered the assurance that “Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer,” saying, in an implicit warning to Israel which Tel Aviv promptly ignored, “They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the USA. Enough is enough!!!”The US President’s head-spinning social media callisthenics and grandstanding also involved thanking Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE for their help, while snubbing NATO for not helping with a deal he assumes is done and dusted. “Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump said, speaking transparently of a growing trans-Atlantic rift that has damaged ties with the U.K, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, among others.Instead, Trump was effusive in his praise of Pakistan, thanking“its Great Prime Minister and Field Marshall (sic), two fantastic people!!!” He also thanked Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar “for your great bravery and help!” While there remained widespread skepticism in the US commentariat about the deal given the lack of specifics, the MAGA supremo also lashed out at familiar domestic targets, the so-called “fake news,” saying they are “desperately” looking for a reason to criticize him on the Iran situation. “Why don’t they just say, at the right time, JOB WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT, and start to gain back their credibility???” Trump said. But skepticism of Trump’s claim of an imminent deal still runs deep in the American media and the commentariat given the lack of specifics and the US President’s penchant for grandstanding.
