Trump says Iran deal is 'largely negotiated,' would reopen Strait of Hormuz

Washington and Iran have "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of ‌Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said, as expectations rose that a breakthrough might be imminent in the three-month-old war.

Trump said the emerging agreement being brokered by Pakistan would reopen the strait, the vital ​shipping passage whose closure has sparked a ⁠global energy crisis since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. He did not say what else would be included in an ‌agreement.

"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently ‌being discussed, and will be announced shortly," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

Various media in the US and Iran said the memorandum sets out a framework for ending months of fighting, lifting a US blockade on Iranian shipping and reopening the waterway, which Iran has shut with threats to attack shipping.

Plans for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Washington has insisted it give up, would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days, the reports said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said more news could come on Sunday. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that if Iran's Supreme National Security Council approved the ⁠memorandum, it would be sent to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei for final approval.

But Iran's Tasnim news agency said differences remained over one or two clauses. Tasnim cited a source as saying there would be no final understanding if the US continued to create obstacles.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at an event. Reuters

A deal cementing the current fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but not immediately quell a global energy crisis, which has driven up costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.

At around $103.50, the price of Brent crude is 43% higher than when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Even if the war ends now, full flows through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said last week.

The US news outlet Axios late on Saturday cited an unnamed US official as saying that under the ​prospective deal, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions on Iranian oil.

The draft also includes commitments from Iran never to pursue nuclear weapons, Axios said.

Trump, while ‌offering various war aims during the conflict, has repeatedly said the US struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran has long denied it is pursuing such weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, although the purity it has achieved far exceeds that needed for power generation.

Iran's Fars news agency said the draft also stipulates that the US and its allies will not ⁠attack Iran or its allies, and in return Iran pledges not to launch preemptive attacks on them.

However, prominent Israeli politician Benny Gantz said it would be a strategic mistake for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, which its troops have entered to fight the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia, as part of a deal with Iran.

Israeli media cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told Trump that his country would maintain freedom to act ​against all threats, including in Lebanon, ‌and that Trump had agreed.

Trump himself merely wrote on Truth Social that a call with Netanyahu had gone "very well".

Sources have told Reuters the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the ‌war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.

Two Pakistani sources said that, according to the memorandum, the Strait would be opened immediately after the U.S. lifted its blockade. Rubio said that, if the outline was agreed on, it would mean "completely open straits", and "without tolls".

Tasnim said any changes in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz were conditional on implementation of other commitments by the US. It ‌also said some Iranian funds ‌that have been frozen globally as part of sanctions must be released in the first phase of the deal.

One ⁠of the Pakistani sources said if the U.S. accepted the memorandum, further talks could take place after the Muslim Eid holiday ends on Friday.

Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war's impact on US energy prices, said on Friday he would not attend his son's wedding this weekend, citing Iran among the reasons for staying in Washington.

He spoke on Saturday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, who encouraged Trump to agree to ⁠the emerging framework, Axios reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that "the trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators".

Baghaei ​said the issue of the US blockade on Iran's shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new U.S. attacks and the conflict in Lebanon.

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran's armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that, if the US restarted the war, the consequences would be "more forceful and bitter" than at the ⁠start of the conflict.

Reuters