‘Like nuclear bombs, they won’t blow up the planet’: Trump’s U-turn on Iranian missiles after deal takes effect

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended a new memorandum of understanding with Iran, saying it would be “a little bit unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles if other countries in the region have them.Trump made the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Paris shortly after the two countries signed the deal on Wednesday and shortly before it takes effect. G7 summit.“I mean, if other countries have them, it’s kind of unfair that they don’t have them,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying.He added that the assessment should be done on a regional basis.“If both Saudi Arabia and Qatar had some, I would say, in relative proportion, I think it would be OK,” he said.Trump also stated that the US military will maintain a presence in the Gulf region for a period of time after the agreement is signed.Trump has sought to distinguish between nuclear weapons and missile systems, arguing that the latter do not pose the same level of global risk.“Missiles are not a problem… They will hurt a small area, but they will not blow up the earth (like nuclear weapons),” The Times of Israel quoted him as saying.He added that missile-related issues would remain part of subsequent negotiations.Trump’s comments signaled Washington’s recalibration of its stance on Iran’s ballistic missile program, which Israel has called for dismantling as part of a broader solution.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Iran’s missile capabilities are part of a broader security threat related to its nuclear program and regional activities.However, Trump said the issue would not be treated the same as nuclear weapons.“Ballistic missiles are not the same thing as what we are talking about when we talk about nuclear weapons,” the US president said.A U.S. official told Reuters that Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the memorandum digitally on Sunday after U.S. Vice President Vance and Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bakr Qalibaf signed the memorandum, with Trump witnessing the earlier signing.Separately, Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying: “The text of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has been finalized by the signature of the two presidents, and now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement.”Despite the confirmation, the United States has not publicly released the full text of the agreement.The interim arrangements are expected to form the basis for further negotiations, with discussions continuing in the coming weeks as both sides try to transform the framework into a more comprehensive solution.