U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are proceeding smoothly, but reiterated that if Iran does not carry out the agreement, he could resort to military pressure.
Trump met with reporters at the White House on the 22nd and said of the negotiations with Iran, "We are doing very well in bringing about a fair and reasonable agreement."
At the same time, he warned, "If Iran does not keep its promises or does not act properly, I will do what needs to be done." The remarks were taken to suggest that if talks go off track or break down, he could take hard-line measures, including military action. However, he moderated the tone by using the phrase "what needs to be done" instead of issuing a direct warning of an attack.
Trump also signaled he would not tolerate deviations during the talks, saying, "As long as Iran respects us, there will be no problem."
Trump said, "Talks are ongoing, and we will see how the situation unfolds," adding, "An open strait and an Iran without nuclear weapons—those two are the principles." It reaffirmed that the United States is putting the prevention of nuclear development and stable navigation in the Strait of Hormuz at the core of the negotiations.
Trump claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was fully open that day, but local assessments still say vessel traffic has not returned to normal levels.
He also praised Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. negotiating team, saying he "did a tremendous job," and gave high marks to the talks' results.
Trump further said that funds released after easing sanctions on Iran would help the U.S. economy. "All the money will come back in the form of food purchases," Trump said. "Iran is failing to feed 91 million people. The released funds will ultimately go to American farmers."
This is seen as a plan to induce Iran to use unfrozen funds to import U.S. agricultural products. The United States has long raised concerns that funds freed by lifting sanctions could be used to support terrorism.
Trump also repeated his earlier claim that he pushed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end hostilities with Iran to prevent a recession. "A recession is a very bad thing," he said, "and nuclear weapons can bring about a much bigger problem much faster than a recession."
The United States and Iran held their first high-level follow-up talks on the 21st in Switzerland after signing the MOU to end hostilities and agreed to continue working-level negotiations.
Meanwhile, Trump also signed an executive order that day to foster the quantum computing industry. The plan is to expand federal adoption of the technology and support research and development to accelerate the development of practical quantum computers by 2028.
Quantum computing is considered a next-generation technology capable of performing complex calculations that are difficult even for existing supercomputers. Because it is directly tied to national security and competitiveness in advanced industries, the United States and China are locked in fierce competition for leadership.