Washington: US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was preparing to make a final decision on a potential agreement with Iran, outlining terms that include a commitment by Tehran never to acquire a nuclear weapon and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on social media, Trump said Iran must accept a permanent ban on nuclear weapons as part of the proposed arrangement.
“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” he wrote.
Trump said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies, should be reopened immediately.
“The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” he said.
The President also claimed that mines in the waterway were being removed and that shipping disrupted by a U.S. naval blockade would soon resume.
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!'” Trump wrote.
He said US forces had already removed numerous mines and that Iran would complete the removal or detonation of any remaining devices.
Trump’s statement also addressed Iran’s nuclear programme. He claimed that enriched nuclear material buried deep underground following a US military strike nearly a year ago would be recovered and destroyed.
“The enriched material, sometimes referred to as ‘Nuclear Dust,’ which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States,” he wrote.
According to Trump, the operation would be conducted “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
He said no financial transfers would take place under the arrangement.
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” Trump wrote.
He added that “other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to”, but did not elaborate.
The President did not provide details on the status of negotiations or indicate whether Iranian officials had formally accepted the terms he described. He concluded his statement by saying he would be meeting in the White House Situation Room “to make a final determination.”
Any agreement involving the Strait of Hormuz would be closely watched by governments and energy markets because of the waterway’s role in transporting a significant share of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies.
For India, developments in the Gulf carry particular significance. India imports a large portion of its crude oil requirements from the region, and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have historically raised concerns about energy security, shipping costs and inflationary pressures.
(IANS)
