The Albany Gazette - Trump defends Iran deal from critics he calls 'fools'

Oil prices tumbled after Trump and his Iranian counterpart separately signed their accord to end the Middle East war, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen but two months of negotiations lying ahead.

In a sudden development after uncertainty over when the deal agreed earlier this week would be formally signed, Trump put his name to it in thick black ink at a candlelit dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris on Wednesday.

Macron -- for whom the signing at the palace, which hosted the signing of the treaty that ended World War I, was an immense coup following his hosting of the G7 summit -- shouted "bravo" as Trump signed.

"These fools, who think I haven't been tough enough on Iran, when the Stock Market Just Hit A RECORD HIGH, and Oil prices are 'tumbling' down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid," Trump posted on social media hours after signing the deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also signed the agreement, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, adding that "now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement".

Crude fell more than three percent Thursday, extending the losses sustained since news of the deal broke at the weekend.

- 'Allows for peace' -

The deal should bring an end to the current US-Israeli conflict with the Islamic republic, which saw five weeks of all-out war until a ceasefire early April and led to shipping being greatly restricted in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a spike in energy prices.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, which helped mediate the agreement, said it "shall enter into force with immediate effect" and Iran "will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz". He also signed the accord.

A two-month negotiating period now begins with all eyes on the reopening of Hormuz and if progress can be made in talks over Iran's nuclear programme, which Washington has long suspected of concealing secret bomb-making ambitions.

Macron hailed the deal "which allows for peace, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, and 60 days to conclude an agreement on nuclear, ballistic, and regional activities".

There remained confusion over the next steps, with the accord originally supposed to have been signed at an exclusive mountain-top resort in Switzerland on Friday by Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and US Vice President JD Vance.

Baqaei said an in-person ceremony was no longer needed. But Sharif said an official ceremony will take place on Friday in Switzerland and technical talks will commence.

Under the text, Washington commits to immediately waive oil sanctions crippling Iran's economy.

And, once a final agreement is reached on Iran's nuclear programme, the United States will also facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund supported by regional nations, the deal says.

UN atomic agency chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Geneva it was ready to begin defining the "concrete steps" that will need to be taken to implement a US-Iran deal.

US officials also said Iran will dilute its enriched uranium stocks, possibly by "down-blending on site" under the supervision of the UN watchdog.

Iran's ballistic missile programme was not mentioned in the agreement, despite Israel's longstanding push for its dismantling.

"Iranian missiles are only for firing, not for negotiations. Iran's defence capability will not be discussed in any way, in any process or with any party," Baqaei said.

- 'Foreign policy blunder' -

There has been some criticism from hardliners within Iran, where the conflict was described as an "imposed war" and compared to the 1980-1988 conflict with Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

But Ghalibaf insisted the deal represented a US "failure", while Pezeshkian called it "historic".

And Trump's decision to end the war, in which 13 US service members were killed and a vast proportion of US ammunition stockpiles was used, has unsettled some of his allies at home.

Apparently anticipating such criticism, Trump said at the G7 that he was prepared to "bomb the hell" out of Iran if they violated the agreement.

But US Senator Bill Cassidy from Trump's Republican Party described it as the "worst foreign policy blunder in decades".

"Iran's nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works," he said.

Even Fox News, the usually Trump-friendly news channel, cited critics who said the agreement gave Iran "huge financial benefits" without requiring the dismantlement of its nuclear programme.

And while the deal specifies that Lebanon should be part of the equation, it is unclear whether the war on that front will be discussed in the next 60 days.

Lebanon was drawn into the conflict when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2 in support of Iran. Israel responded by launching a massive campaign of strikes and a ground invasion.

While violence has declined in Lebanon following the announcement of the deal, an Israeli drone strike in south Lebanon killed one person on Thursday, according to Lebanese state media.

(T.Wright--TAG)