Trump Hardens Stance on Iran; President Renews Efforts to Dismantle Vaccination Schedule

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**Nathan Hager** (0:09)
Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager.

**Karen Moskow** (0:11)
And I'm Karen Moskow. Here are the stories we're following today.

**Nathan Hager** (0:15)
Karen, the US and Iran appear to be hardening their positions as the wait continues for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says he's demanding reparations from Iran over past attacks, along with compensation to families of protesters who have been killed over the years. The president says it's a response to Iran's own demands for compensation.

**Donald Trump** (0:35)
They ask for reparations, you might say, or they ask for money for the damage that we've done. And I said, that's a good idea. Well, we're going to ask for money for the damage they've done over a 50-year period.

**Nathan Hager** (0:48)
President Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office. Bloomberg's Zabir Abou-Omar reports both sides making it tougher to come to an immediate agreement on the Strait.

**Zabir Abou-Omar** (0:56)
The hardliners over the weekend have asked for some maximalist demands. Those include the lifting of the US naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a compensation for the damages occurred by the war. And then you also have them asking for the lifting of oil sanctions, the blocked assets. President Trump in the latest remarks has said that, well, if Iran is going to ask for that, the US will also ask for compensation over the thousands killed over the past 50 years in Iran.

**Nathan Hager** (1:24)
And Bloomberg's Bureau of Obama reports, President Trump also says Iran should be held responsible for deaths and damages from its proxy groups in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Gaza.

**Karen Moskow** (1:34)
Well, Nathan reports are emerging of an extraordinary operation to protect President Trump from an Iranian assassination threat last month. The Washington Post says the president's older Air Force One jet was used as a decoy while he secretly flew from Turkey to the UK on a smaller military aircraft. Bloomberg's Chris Pitt has the details.

**Chris Pitt** (1:54)
Trump had arrived at the NATO Summit in Ankara aboard his new Qatari gifted Air Force One. The plane was then sent ahead to Britain for a transatlantic journey home, while Trump was filmed boarding the older Air Force One in Turkey.
At the time, Trump denied the change was about security, saying it was simply to show the newer jet to US service members in the UK.
The New York Times later reported that a credible Iranian threat had prompted the Secret Service to recommend a change of aircraft. But the Washington Post now says the security operation went much further with another secret switch. It says Trump was taken off the older Air Force One in an airport catering truck and transferred onto a smaller military plane. The legacy presidential plane then flew to Britain as a decoy, carrying journalists and some White House staff who believed the president was still aboard. In London, Chris Pitt, Bloomberg Radio.

**Nathan Hager** (2:54)
Alright Chris, thank you. Trade friction may be emerging between the US and China ahead of next month's summit in Washington between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping. China has ordered steep anti-dumping deposits on pecan imports from the US and Mexico. China says the nuts from both countries are being sold at unfairly low prices. So starting today, importers of US pecans will be required to pay a deposit rate of more than 54%.
Those buying from Mexico will pay less.

**Karen Moskow** (3:23)
Well, Nathan, elections are in focus with special primaries in Alabama and South Carolina, plus congressional races in several more states. And Bloomberg's Amy Morris has details.

**Amy Morris** (3:34)
A Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for Alabama to use its 2023 legislature-drawn congressional map, but it was too late for four of those district races, so they were rescheduled for August 11th. In South Carolina, 10 Republicans are competing in a special primary election to replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham on the general election ballot. If no one wins the majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a special runoff on August 25th. Regular primary elections are also going on in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio.

**Nathan Hager** (4:06)
All right, Amy, thank you. Back in the nation's capital, President Trump has revived his effort to roll back the childhood vaccination schedule. He has issued an executive order recommending that the combined measles, brumps and rubella vaccine be broken into three separate shots. The president is tying the issue to rising autism rates.

**Donald Trump** (4:23)
Well, we do not know exactly what the cause is with respect to autism. It is essential to our research efforts that we have the very best vaccine recommendations in the entire world.