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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday attributed the peace deal with Tehran to a long-term strategy and asserted that the deal would not be possible without his decision to authorise the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed in airstrikes launched by Washington at Baghdad International Airport in January 2020. Describing the deceased Iranian commander as a "mad genius", President Trump argued that this military action set the stage for the current diplomatic opening. "All the tough guys, tough guys don't realise that this wasn't a 3-month deal. This was years in the making. You know why? Because I was the one who killed General Soleimani," the President stated during a press conference at the G7 Summit. "If I didn't kill General Soleimani, we probably wouldn't be talking right now about this deal, because he was a mad genius. They were never able to replace him," he added. Trump further highlighted that the announced deal, and the "positive statements" emerging from Tehran, have already yielded significant economic dividends. "With this announcement, or close to it, as people started to think it was going to happen when Iran was making some very positive statements, the stock market has surged to record highs over the last short period of time," Trump said. He further noted that oil prices are "dropping as it has never dropped before at levels that went in numbers". Trump defended the diplomatic approach as the only viable path to securing regional trade routes, while mentioning that the military action would have continued had the agreement not been reached. "But if we didn't do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another few weeks. You would never have the Strait of Hormuz open. You would never have success," Trump remarked. Preliminary details are beginning to filter through ahead of the impending US-Iran memorandum signing ceremony, with the peace deal set to be signed on Friday in Switzerland. A report broadcast by Fox News detailed that these measures include the reopening of the strategic Strait, the formal termination of the American blockade, and the initiation of a crucial 60-day negotiation period regarding Iran's uranium enrichment activities. This comprehensive roadmap also integrates substantial sanctions relief alongside a structured ceasefire agreement involving Israel and Hezbollah. (ANI)
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