- Trump says Tehran’s uranium is “perfectly cared for.”
- Iran sees the truce with the United States as a victory for Tehran amid Trump’s claims.
- The two sides agree to a ceasefire just an hour before the deadline.
President Donald Trump said AFP on Tuesday that the United States had won a “total and complete victory” after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.
In a phone call, Trump said he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate and said Tehran’s enriched uranium would be “perfectly taken care of.”
The ceasefire agreement came after more than a month of destructive attacks by the United States and Israel, and after mediation by Pakistan.
The American leader appeared optimistic about the truce with Iran, even though Tehran also considered it a victory for its side, and amid questions about what exactly the two sides had agreed to.
The two sides agreed to the ceasefire just an hour before Trump’s deadline to destroy the Islamic republic expired.
“Total and complete victory. 100%. There’s no doubt about it,” Trump said. AFP in the brief call when asked if he declared victory with the ceasefire.
With uncertainty over agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic in particular, Trump insisted there was a solid framework for a longer-term deal.
“We have a 15-point compromise, most of which have been agreed upon. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if it gets there,” Trump said.
The Republican president had said in his earlier announcement on his Truth Social network that Iran had presented a 10-point proposal that was “workable.”
Trump did not say whether he would return to his original threats to destroy Iran’s power plants and civilian bridges if the deal failed.
“You’ll have to see,” Trump said. AFP.
Uranium ‘be careful’
The fate of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium is another key question, following a war that the US president said was partially aimed at ensuring that Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon.
But Trump insisted that nuclear material would be covered by any peace deal.
“That will be worked out perfectly, or there wouldn’t have been a deal,” Trump said, without giving details about what would happen to the uranium.
Trump said he believed China had played a role in bringing Iran to the negotiating table.
“I heard so,” Trump said when asked if Beijing was involved in getting its key ally, Tehran, to negotiate a truce.
The US president is scheduled to travel to Beijing in mid-May to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for a crucial summit between the two superpowers.
The trip was originally scheduled for early April, but Trump postponed it, saying he had to stay in Washington to oversee the Iran war.
Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and the main buyer of Iranian oil, most of which passes through the Strait.
But it also has strong economic ties with Gulf countries and has repeatedly criticized Iran’s attacks.
