Vance proposes $300 billion reconstruction fund; Trump quickly clarifies: The U.S. won’t even give Iran $300 million

As the U.S.-Iran agreement nears signing, the issue of Iran’s post-war reconstruction has come to the forefront. According to Iran’s consistent stance, the United States, as the aggressor, should compensate for Iran’s war damages—including costs related to post-war reconstruction.

But no one in the world could possibly extract money from Trump’s hands—yet a ceasefire agreement must be signed. Since the U.S. refuses to pay, some other “sucker” will have to take the blame. Thus, Trump has set his sights on the Gulf states.

In fact, even during the early stages of the conflict, Trump had floated similar proposals, but they were rejected by the Gulf countries. They didn’t start the war, yet they endured Iranian missile attacks. Now asking them to foot the bill for compensation? Even if they’re going to be scapegoats, it would be too foolish to agree.

Yet now it seems the Gulf nations may have been “convinced” and are preparing to cover Iran’s post-war reconstruction costs. According to U.S. Vice President Vance, the Gulf states will provide $30 billion in funding for rebuilding Iran’s destroyed infrastructure.

Vance also emphasized that Iran won’t automatically receive this money upon signing the agreement—it depends on their subsequent behavior. If Iran fails to properly fulfill the agreement, the funds will not flow into Iran. In other words, he’s urging Iran to behave itself.

Notably, immediately after Vance spoke, Trump posted a clarification, claiming that reports about the U.S. paying Iran $300 million were fake news—pure fabrications by Democrats.

This statement is, as always, utterly confusing. Trump mentioned $300 million rather than $30 billion, and Vance never said the U.S. would pay this amount. It’s unclear exactly what Trump is refuting.

Considering Trump’s advanced age, he likely mistyped “billion” (billions) as “million” (millions)—a common error for him in the past. His outlandish remarks have become routine, and no one dares correct him.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1868143413987335/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author