Trump May Skip US-Iran Deal Signing, Confirms JD Vance's Attendance

Trump "may not" attend signing of US-Iran deal, confirms attendance of JD Vance

Évian-les-Bains, June 16

US President Donald Trump arrived in the French resort town of Évian-les-Bains to attend the 52nd G7 Summit, carrying geopolitical momentum following a watershed diplomatic breakthrough in West Asia.

Speaking with reporters during the bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump expressed uncertainity over his presence in the signing of the agreement. However, Trump confirmed US Vice President JD Vance's presence in the signing ceremony.

"It depends. JD is coming in for. He was originally going to do. I'll probably be gone by then. We're having dinner in a day and a half, right? We're going to be staying quite late," the US President said.

"I may be involved, I may not. But JD was coming in for that specifically," he added.

Earlier in the day, US Vice President JD Vance said that both sides have already "signed the deal digitally", stressing that any sanctions relief for Tehran as part of the agreement would depend on the Islamic Republic's compliance with commitments under the agreement.

Speaking to ABC's Good Morning America, Vance said no financial concessions had been made to Iran following the signing of the deal."We already signed the deal digitally yesterday, and there's been no money released, and that won't change," Vance said, responding to a question on whether Iran would receive sanctions relief or access to frozen assets upon signing the agreement.

The US Vice President underscored that the deal would be implemented on a performance-based framework, with sanctions relief linked to concrete actions by Iran as per the agreement.

"Again, this is a performance-based thing. If we see the Iranians making, for example, taking action to eliminate their stockpile of enriched material, then sanctions relief will follow. If we see the Iranians taking action to allow the kind of verification regime that we need to see to know that they're not going to build a nuclear weapon, sanctions relief will follow," he said.

Vance added that the agreement offered Iran an opportunity to reintegrate into the global economy, provided it adhered to the terms of the deal.

"This is really about walking down a pathway here where the Iranians will be welcomed into the world economy if they do the right thing," he said.

Asked whether Israel's decision to "not bind" with the agreement and to maintain troops in Lebanon could complicate the implementation of the deal, Vance acknowledged the challenges of securing lasting peace in the region. "Everything is going to complicate the deal. As you know, in this region of the world, even a ceasefire, sometimes, they're a little bit dirty. It goes from shooting a lot to shooting a little to shooting not at all," he said.

However, Vance expressed optimism about the broader implications of the agreement, describing it as beneficial for multiple stakeholders in the region."But what we fundamentally believe is that this is going to be a good deal for the people of Israel, for the people of the Gulf, the people of America, and again, potentially for the people of Iran as well," he said.

His remarks come after Trump on Sunday stated that a deal with Iran was "complete" and that the Strait of Hormuz would again be open after the signing of the agreement on Friday. He further stated that the "great deal" was aimed at bringing "peace and security" to the whole region.

— ANI