Trump Says Iran Accord to Be Signed ‘Shortly’, ‘Maybe’ Thursday or Friday

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 17 June 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 17 June 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Says Iran Accord to Be Signed ‘Shortly’, ‘Maybe’ Thursday or Friday

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 17 June 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 17 June 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expected the accord with Iran ending the Middle East war to be signed "shortly" but added uncertainty over the exact date. 

"The deal we reached with Iran on Sunday will be signed shortly, tomorrow (Thursday), maybe the next day (Friday)," Trump said at the G7 summit, after previous announcements that it would be signed Friday in Switzerland. 

"We are going to most likely sign a deal," he added. 

Trump told reporters at the final press conference of the G7 that he was prepared to "bomb the hell" out of Iran if they violated the agreement. 

"If they are not behaving they will be hit again," he said. 

But he added: "They don't want to get bombed, they don't want to get hit". 

In a long succession of comments on his dealings with Iran, Trump recalled at length how he had in 2020 issued the order to kill Qassem Soleimani, the head of foreign operations for the Revolutionary Guards. 

Trump also recalled the February 28 air strike that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, who he said were "having breakfast" at the time. 

Trump said Washington "did send a copy" of its accord with Iran to end the Middle East war, following reports of tensions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  

Insisting he maintains a good relationship with Netanyahu, Trump reaffirmed his criticism at the G7 summit of Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "they (Israel) could do a much better job". 

Trump was also asked about the deadly strike on an Iranian school in Minab on the first day of the war, which left 155 dead, according to the Iranian authorities. 

Initially describing the question as "strange", Trump said: "Nobody did it on purpose. Mistakes are made, war is nasty." 

"I know it is under investigation," he said, telling the reporter to address the question to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instead. 

A US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the elementary school due to a targeting mistake, according to the preliminary findings of a US military investigation reported by The New York Times. 

Trump also thanked China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir ‌Putin for ‌what he ‌called ⁠their neutrality during the ⁠war with Iran.  

"I just want to thank ⁠them because ‌they ‌made it ‌a lot better," ‌Trump said, adding that both leaders had been "neutral." 



US Cancels Joint Marine Drills with SKorea over Iran War

Apache choppers take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 04 March 2024, to join the Freedom Shield 2024 exercise on the first day of the 11-day annual South Korea-US joint drill against North Korean provocations.  EPA/YONHAP
Apache choppers take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 04 March 2024, to join the Freedom Shield 2024 exercise on the first day of the 11-day annual South Korea-US joint drill against North Korean provocations. EPA/YONHAP
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US Cancels Joint Marine Drills with SKorea over Iran War

Apache choppers take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 04 March 2024, to join the Freedom Shield 2024 exercise on the first day of the 11-day annual South Korea-US joint drill against North Korean provocations.  EPA/YONHAP
Apache choppers take off at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 04 March 2024, to join the Freedom Shield 2024 exercise on the first day of the 11-day annual South Korea-US joint drill against North Korean provocations. EPA/YONHAP

The United States cancelled a joint amphibious landing drill scheduled for next month with South Korea, Seoul's Marine Corps said on Monday, after Washington cited constraints on the availability of US forces due to the war in Iran.

The US Marine Corps formally notified its South Korean counterpart in June that force availability would be constrained for the division-level exercise, known as Ssangyong, a South Korean ⁠Marine Corps spokesperson ⁠told a press briefing.

The allies remain in close consultations on resuming the drills, Reuters quoted the spokesperson as saying. He did not specify what measures might be taken to prevent future cancellations or to make ⁠up for lost training opportunities.

US Forces Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cancellation follows US President Donald Trump's surprise order to scale back a separate annual joint military exercise that ended last Friday, citing the cost and Seoul's refusal to take part in the Iran war.

Trump also wrote on his Truth Social ⁠platform ⁠that the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills sent "a signal that was totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful."

Despite the reduction of the exercises, Pyongyang fired 10 short-range ballistic missiles last week and issued a statement denouncing the exercises.

North Korea has long condemned such joint exercises as rehearsals for invasion.


Oman FM to Visit Iran to Discuss Hormuz Strait

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. (Reuters file)
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. (Reuters file)
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Oman FM to Visit Iran to Discuss Hormuz Strait

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. (Reuters file)
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. (Reuters file)

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi will visit Tehran on Tuesday to ‌continue talks between ‌Iran and ‌Oman ⁠on the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil ⁠Baghaei said ‌on ‌Monday.

Al-Busaidi will hold the "ongoing political consultations between the two sides, as two littoral states of the Strait of Hormuz, to help strengthen peace and security in the region," Baqaei added in a statement.

"The visit is aimed at strengthening Iran-Oman bilateral cooperation and al-Busaidi will meet with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss bilateral and regional issues," he went on to say.

Iran has exerted control over Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and gas shipping, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28. It requires vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

The United States wants the strait to return to its pre-war system of free navigation, while US President Donald Trump claims Washington "has total control" over Hormuz, through which around one fifth of the world's oil and LNG exports passed before the war.

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, the only entrance to the Gulf and which separates their two countries, but a deal has not yet been finalized.

Tehran, however, says even if the talks bear fruit, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the US meets Iran's broader demands including the lifting of its blockade on Iranian ports.


Greece Moves Patriot System over Reported Iran Threats to US Bases

A view of the port of the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo, officially Megisti, the most southeastern inhabited Greek island in the Dodecanese. (AFP)
A view of the port of the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo, officially Megisti, the most southeastern inhabited Greek island in the Dodecanese. (AFP)
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Greece Moves Patriot System over Reported Iran Threats to US Bases

A view of the port of the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo, officially Megisti, the most southeastern inhabited Greek island in the Dodecanese. (AFP)
A view of the port of the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo, officially Megisti, the most southeastern inhabited Greek island in the Dodecanese. (AFP)

The Greek military on Monday moved one of its Patriot missile interceptor systems to the island of Crete in response to Iranian threats to hit US military bases in Europe, media reports said.

The battery was moved from the eastern island of Karpathos to Crete, where there is a major US base at Souda, the reports said. Media images showed the Patriot system on a truck waiting to be loaded on a barge, said AFP.

The Financial Times reported last week, quoting Iranian sources, that Iran would fire missiles at US targets in Europe if President Donald Trump steps up military pressure over the Strait of Hormuz.

The Greek defense ministry did not comment on the reported transfer of the missile system.