Trump Says Deal Peace Deal With Iran Is ‘Largely Negotiated,’ Tehran Pushes Back

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a peace deal between the United States and Iran had been “largely negotiated,” with the final details to be announced shortly. 

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the final details were still being discussed but that the agreement would include opening the Strait of Hormuz. 

But Iran’s Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the deal on the table would keep the Strait under Tehran’s control, and dismissed Trump’s claim that a deal was close as “incomplete ⁠and inconsistent ‌with ​reality.”

The statements followed several Trump interviews with U.S. media, in which he claimed the two sides were close to finalizing a deal to end the war.

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In a phone interview with Axios, Trump said he was meeting later on Saturday with top advisers, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to review Iran’s latest proposal and make a decision on a potential deal by Sunday.  

The chance of reaching an agreement, he told Axios, was a “solid 50/50”: either he would accept a “good” deal or “blow them to kingdom come.”

Trump said in his post that he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Turkey on Saturday, as well as Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who left Tehran on Saturday after meeting with the Iranian leadership. 

In a separate interview with CBS News, Trump said that he would only sign a deal where “we get everything we want,” including preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

He “wouldn’t even be talking about” a deal otherwise, he told CBS News, adding that the agreement would result in Iran’s enriched uranium being “satisfactorily handled.”

Trump threatened to resume strikes against Iran if the country does not come to an agreement with the U.S.: “We’re going to have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit,” he told CBS.

The deal would include negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program

CBS News cited multiple sources who claim that the latest proposal includes a process to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—the closure of which has impacted global supply chains and driven up gas prices—releasing some Iranian assets held in foreign banks, and continued negotiations.

The Associated Press, citing a regional official with knowledge of the deal, reported that it would include an end to the war, followed by two months of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters in New Delhi Saturday that there “may be news” later Saturday on developments in the deal.

“I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be, but I’m not sure yet,” he said.

Pakistan’s army said that the talks between Field Marshal Munir, who has been a lead mediator between the parties, had “resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding” after he departed Iran. 

The development comes as the U.S. and Iran hold a shaky ceasefire that began on April 8. Washington’s regional allies in the Gulf have been hit hard by Iran’s retaliation to U.S.-Israeli strikes, and they worry that a resumption of the war could exacerbate the global energy crisis already choking their economies.

According to the Financial Times, one of the biggest sticking points for the United States has been its insistence on Iran giving up its 440kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Trump is also reportedly demanding Iran dismantle its main three nuclear sites— Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan —which were previously the subject of U.S. strikes last June.