Trump says deal with Iran could be signed 'shortly'

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the deal reached with Iran on Sunday could be signed "shortly."

"So, the deal we reached with Iran on Sunday will be signed shortly, tomorrow, maybe the next day," Trump said at a news conference from France as the G7 summit concludes.

He said the technical discussions on nuclear stockpile will begin "immediately."

"We're going to start that immediately," he added.

The president also hailed the deal which he said ends the current conflict, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, and prevents Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"If we didn't do this deal, we could have dropped more bombs for another three weeks, two weeks, four weeks, two years. You would never have the Hormuz Strait open. You would never have success," Trump said.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the US and Iran electronically on Sunday, which includes an end to the military operations on all fronts and reopening the Strait of Hormuz while setting the stage for talks on Iran's nuclear program linked to sanctions relief. The signing ceremony is scheduled for June 19 in Switzerland.

Trump will later depart for Versailles for a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.

If Iran does not adhere to deal, ‘we're going to bomb the hell out of you'

Asked whether he will stick around for the signing ceremony, Trump said he "might.

"I might, but I'd rather -- this is a memorandum of understanding. It's very important, but it might not be the kind of document that I should be signing," he said, adding Vice President JD Vance will be leaving from the US for the signing ceremony.

He warned that he could start bombing Iran again if "they don't behave."

"Just in case you have any questions, we'll be giving this out, so you can read it, and you can see, and it's a Memorandum of Understanding. If it doesn't get done in 60 days, that's all right; we go back to bombing. I don't want to do that," he said.

Trump said he told Iran that if they do not adhere to the agreement, "I don't want to do that, but we're going to bomb the hell out of you."

The president said he wants Iran "to honor" the agreement.

Citing the deal, Trump said Iran has agreed it will neither produce nor procure a nuclear weapon.

The president said the US sent a copy of the deal to Israel and criticized Tel Aviv for attacks in Lebanon.

"I think they (Israel) could do better with respect to Hezbollah. I'm not saying they shouldn't protect themselves. I'm saying, when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don't have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better, and frankly, they could do a better job," he added.

Trump also said he feels "very bad" for Lebanon.

He hopes that the peace agreement will be "the beginning of a much larger deal" across the Middle East.

"The Lebanon piece is something we'll have to work on a little bit. It's a very small piece of the puzzle, actually, but it still makes a lot of noise," Trump said.

The Lebanese leader will visit the US "very shortly, over the next week or two," he announced.