US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, 18 June mounted an aggressive defence of his landmark Iran agreement at the G7 summit in Évian, France, calling it a historic diplomatic breakthrough that halted a wider Middle East war, reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and permanently barred Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The accord, formalised as a memorandum of understanding, was signed later that evening at the Palace of Versailles following a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump's Case for the Agreement

Speaking at a lengthy post-summit news conference, Trump framed the deal as the product of an unusual combination of military force and diplomacy. 'On Sunday, we reached an agreement with Iran that achieves everything we set out to accomplish — everything and much more,' he said. He cited three core objectives: ending the immediate conflict, restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and blocking Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Trump argued that continuing military operations would have achieved none of these goals. 'If we didn't do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another three weeks, two weeks, four weeks, two years,' he said. 'You would never have the Hormuz Strait open.'

Nuclear Commitments and Enforcement Threat

The president said the memorandum includes an explicit Iranian commitment on weapons. 'Iran has agreed that they will neither produce nor procure a nuclear weapon,' Trump said, adding a blunt warning: 'If they don't honour the agreement … we'll probably go back to bombing them until they honour it.'

Analysts note that the administration is reportedly betting that the credible threat of renewed military action will enforce the accord without requiring a formal treaty structure — a significant departure from the multilateral verification architecture of the 2015 JCPOA, which Trump himself abandoned during his first term.

Economic Signals and Market Response

Trump repeatedly linked the agreement to positive movements in global financial markets and falling oil prices. 'Every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship,' he said. On economic relief for Iran, Trump indicated conditionality: 'If they're doing things right, if people want to invest, they can invest. But we're not putting up money.'

The Wall Street Journal noted that reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly 20% of global oil trade — could deliver significant economic benefits well beyond the Middle East.

Political Pushback and Media Assessment

Trump dismissed criticism from conservatives who had pressed for sustained military pressure, pointing to his 2020 decision to order the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and to recent strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities as proof of his resolve. 'Nobody was tougher than me,' he said.

The New York Times, in an analysis of the agreement, described it as a significant shift from weeks of military confrontation toward a framework built on deterrence and negotiated compliance. The Washington Post called it one of the most consequential foreign policy moves of Trump's second term, characterising the White House's argument as a claim that military pressure can produce diplomatic outcomes.

What Comes Next

Trump acknowledged that the memorandum is a starting point, not a final settlement. 'This is a memorandum of understanding. It's very important,' he said, adding that he hoped the accord would become 'the beginning of a much larger deal all across the Middle East.' Broader negotiations are expected to continue, with the scope and verification mechanisms of any permanent agreement still to be defined. World leaders at the G7 will be watching whether the enforcement threat Trump described proves sufficient to hold Tehran to its commitments.