Trump announces 'a great settlement' with Iran, aims for weekend signing

[0:00] We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran, [0:05] and we're going to be subject to finalization of documents. [0:09] We should get done over the next few days. [0:13] We'll probably have a signing maybe in Europe. [0:15] And most importantly, we have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. [0:19] The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, [0:24] maybe over the weekend in Europe. [0:27] I won't be able to be there, but J.D. will be there, vice president, and some of the people. [0:35] Steve Whitcuff did a great job. Jared. [0:37] Effectively, he says that right now this agreement is subject to the finalization of documents [0:43] that there will likely be a signing in Europe soon, maybe over the weekend, [0:47] adding that he will not be there, but vice president J.D. Vance will, [0:51] adding that the whole Middle East is happy. [0:54] What is your reaction to these remarks, and how optimistic are you, Congressman, [0:58] that this deal is actually going to be finalized, [1:02] given that we've heard some of this from President Trump before? [1:04] Well, this is apparently the 37th time that he has said that Iran's at the table, [1:11] they're making a deal, and the war will be ended. [1:14] This is the same administration that said the war was terminated way back on May 1st. [1:19] It's June. It's in June, folks. [1:22] You know, this is the same president who has demanded the unconditional surrender of Iran. [1:30] Unconditional surrender means no conditions. [1:33] There are no documents to be signed, things to be exchanged, no transaction. [1:38] I mean, he sounds like he's making a real estate deal here, [1:41] buying a casino that he can bankrupt or something, [1:44] not actually doing what we need to do to get the world economy out of the strangling grip of Iran. [1:51] So we just can't trust anything that he's saying. [1:55] Maybe there will be a deal. [1:56] Maybe there won't. [1:58] So far, 37 out of 37 times thus far, there's been no deal, even though he's promised there would be. [2:05] The president there spent a bit of time describing his communications with leaders in the region, [2:13] U.S. allies that have been impacted by this war. [2:17] He specifically mentioned Bahrain and Kuwait and obviously Israel as well, [2:24] saying that he spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu. [2:27] But a source tells CNN that this announcement caught Israel off guard. [2:31] It's certainly possible that the officials that CNN has been speaking to were not made privy to this information [2:38] or were not aware of what Netanyahu knew. [2:41] But I do wonder that as Trump says Israel approved this agreement, [2:45] do you think Netanyahu needs to be looped in on these negotiations before the president posts something like this? [2:52] Well, if you remember, when the initial ceasefire, as they've called it, [2:56] although it's a farce of a ceasefire, [2:58] but when the initial ceasefire was put into place, it was very clear from Pakistan and Iran's perspective [3:04] that that meant Israel was to cease operations in Lebanon. [3:09] But apparently Netanyahu didn't get that memo because they continued operations in Lebanon, [3:15] and that's the excuse that Iran has often used for continuing the war. [3:19] So the reality is that he does need to get everybody on the same page here [3:23] because it's not just the United States acting unilaterally, and he doesn't seem to be able to do that. [3:29] Taking the president at his word that there will be a signing, perhaps even this weekend in Europe, [3:35] what questions do you have about the memorandum of understanding, [3:40] and what concerns do you have potentially about what's in it? [3:44] Well, fundamentally, what are we giving the Iranians in this deal? [3:48] What is this so-called transaction that he's talking about? [3:52] It doesn't sound like unconditional surrender to me. Far from it. [3:57] What are we giving to them? [3:58] How many billions of dollars in blood money are we essentially paying the Iranians to reopen the strait? [4:03] What are the conditions under which their nuclear program will be dismantled? [4:08] You know, one of the reasons it took the Obama team so many months, [4:11] two years about, to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal under President Obama [4:16] is because we had very intrusive inspections. [4:19] So Iran could not get away with breaking the deal. [4:24] We were in their nuclear facilities. [4:26] We had constant electronic monitoring. [4:28] We had international observers. [4:30] That's why it was effective. [4:31] That's why even the first Trump administration certified that Iran was following that deal. [4:37] Well, if those things don't exist under this new plan, [4:40] then Trump can have a formal signing ceremony, you know, [4:44] and get all the pomp and circumstance and boost the stock market for a few days. [4:48] But we are not going to be able to have confidence that Iran won't still build a nuclear weapon. [4:54] Is your view, Congressman, that the U.S. at this point should have perhaps been more aggressive [5:00] in trying to get concessions through military force? [5:03] Because it was only a few hours ago that President Trump, before this was announced, [5:07] was talking about potentially even taking Karg Island, [5:10] this hub for oil exports in the Persian Gulf that likely would have required not only American forces [5:16] to take it, in the president's words, but also likely an expanded presence to hold on to it. [5:22] It's only a few miles away from Iranian territory. [5:27] No, absolutely not. [5:28] I think this war is one of the dumbest in history because it's actually empowered Iran. [5:33] I mean, the whole point of this war was to prevent them to stop their nuclear program. [5:37] Well, that has not been achieved yet. [5:39] In fact, we were at a much better place in stopping their nuclear program under President Obama [5:43] before Trump tore up that nuclear deal. [5:46] Then he talked about stopping Iran's power projection. [5:49] Well, Iran's never projected more power in history. [5:52] I mean, they've literally strangled the world economy by closing the Strait of Hormuz. [5:56] So this war has backfired from day one. [5:59] And my big concern that I've said for a couple of months now is that if Trump tries to escalate militarily, [6:06] he'll only make things worse. [6:08] One of the ways that he could make things worse is if he does an operation that entails a lot of U.S. casualties. [6:14] And I'll tell you what, a great way to ensure U.S. casualties is to tell your enemy what you're about to do, [6:20] which is exactly what Trump did a couple of days ago when he said he wants to have an operation on Karg Island. [6:25] I mean, I can't imagine, as a Marine veteran myself, being a Marine off the coast, [6:31] potentially with plans in hand to go into Karg Island and have the commander-in-chief tell your enemy [6:36] that that's what you're going to do. [6:38] It's unbelievably irresponsible. [6:40] And it's clear that Trump cares a lot more about the stock market than about our troops. [6:44] If all this does come to pass, there would be a loose framework, almost a memorandum of understanding, [6:50] sketching out parameters for a specific nuclear agreement to be negotiated over the next however many months [6:58] or even longer, certain terms for reopening the strait. [7:02] And I expect a schedule of financial transfers, either the easing of sanctions [7:07] or the thawing out of so-called frozen assets. [7:11] Look, this would be good economically. [7:15] It would be good if the ceasefire was to hold. [7:17] But we shouldn't kid ourselves if this is to happen. [7:21] And again, I hope it happens. [7:23] It's not the same as peace. [7:24] Iran has demonstrated its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz. [7:29] That could be reintroduced in a month or six months. [7:32] As I said, the nuclear challenge has not gone away. [7:35] It's going to be an open-ended one for essentially years to come. [7:40] There's still the question of Iranian support for radical groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis. [7:46] There's the question of Iran's drone capabilities, ballistic missile capabilities, [7:51] obviously issues of real concern to Israel. [7:53] There's the fate of the Iranian people. [7:55] So I simply point out all this out to say as welcome as a deal might be in principle, [8:00] we should probably limit the amount of champagne we decork and enjoy simply because of all the questions. [8:08] He said that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon under this deal. [8:13] Do you believe that? [8:15] Look, that ought to be the goal. [8:19] Iran can say that, but that's a question of intentions. [8:23] Intentions you can never measure. [8:24] All you can mention are capabilities. [8:27] And that's something that we're going to need international inspectors to go into Iran to have extraordinary access. [8:33] Again, this is not a time-limited effort. [8:37] This then becomes a permanent effort to make sure there's no enriched uranium. [8:40] There'll probably have to be limits on the centrifuges that Iran is allowed to spin. [8:48] Again, we shouldn't kid ourselves. [8:50] This is something that is going to have to be constantly monitored and verified. [8:55] So it's not a problem solved. [8:57] It's simply, if you will, an open-ended goal. [9:00] It's not a problem solved.