Trump Sees Iran Deal on the Horizon Again – Tehran Denies It

“We have just reached a great agreement in the war with Iran,” Trump claimed at the White House. The documents are expected to be finalized shortly and may be signed in Europe as early as this weekend.

However, a denial came promptly from Iran: No text has been finalized yet, reported the Iranian news agency Fars, which is close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, citing a source connected to the negotiating team. Senior Iranian politicians initially did not comment on Trump’s remarks.

The Republican had already claimed several times that an agreement with Iran was close—the U.S. television network CNN counted exactly 39 times. But the negotiations later stalled repeatedly. This time, when asked by reporters, Trump responded that, to his understanding, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had already agreed to a framework agreement. Among other things, it includes the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The U.S. naval blockade against Iranian ships and ports will remain fully in place until a final agreement is reached, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social. The U.S. had thus responded to Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump Calls Off New Attacks

Just hours earlier, the US president had canceled his new attacks on Iran, which had been announced for Thursday evening. On Truth Social, he had threatened that the U.S. military would strike the country “very hard” and, in the not-too-distant future, capture the island of Kharg, which is vital to Iran’s oil industry. The U.S. would gain “complete control” over Iran’s oil and gas markets, he announced.

Charg is located in the Persian Gulf and is of great strategic importance. The island is home to Iran’s most important oil port, through which nearly all of the Islamic Republic’s oil exports are handled.

Trump explained on Truth Social that he called off the attacks due to discussions that had reached the highest levels of the Iranian leadership. He stated that the details had been approved by all parties involved, namely the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and other countries. Trump did not provide any specifics.

Israeli Government: We Have Trump’s Assurance

According to its own statements, the Israeli government has received assurances from Washington that the security interests of the Jewish state will be taken into account in a future final agreement with the Islamic Republic. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that Trump had promised that a deal would include the removal of Iran’s enriched uranium as well as the dismantling of its uranium enrichment facilities.

Trump also assured Netanyahu that a final agreement would restrict Iran’s missile production and end the arch-enemy’s support for its proxies in the region. This refers, among others, to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. According to Israeli sources, Trump and Netanyahu discussed in the evening a “looming memorandum of understanding” between the U.S. and Iran to begin negotiations. Israel is not involved in this.

Tough Struggle to Reach an Agreement

For weeks now, representatives from Washington and Tehran have been negotiating a permanent end to the war that the U.S. and Israel began in late February with their attacks on Iran. A ceasefire has technically been in effect for over two months, but there have been several instances of mutual shelling since the truce took effect, most recently on Wednesday night. Until recently, the positions on a potential framework agreement were significantly apart.

It is generally expected that such a framework agreement would lay the groundwork for in-depth negotiations on the major points of contention. The central point of conflict is Iran’s nuclear program and the handling of the country’s highly enriched uranium, which the Israeli government fears could be used to build a nuclear bomb. According to media reports, this issue could be the subject of in-depth negotiations over a 60-day period.

There is also disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for global trade in oil, gas, and fertilizer, as well as the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Additionally, Iran is demanding the lifting of economic sanctions and the release of frozen assets abroad.

Is Vance heading to Europe for a deal?

According to the Iranian news agency Fars, a framework agreement had already been largely finalized about two weeks ago. However, military tensions, including Israel’s attacks on the Lebanese capital Beirut, led to the negotiations being put on hold for the time being, the agency reported. Following successful mediation by the Gulf emirate of Qatar, progress was then made again on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump said at the White House that Vice President JD Vance could travel to Europe for a possible signing of a deal over the weekend. The Republican did not name a specific location or country. Trump said he himself would not be able to attend. He is celebrating his 80th birthday this Sunday in Washington and plans to fly to France afterward for the G7 summit of leading democratic economic powers.