Trump: Iran deal ‘largely negotiated’

Donald Trump claimed an agreement to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz has “largely been negotiated”.

The US president said on Saturday he was on the brink of signing a peace deal with Tehran and that an agreement “would be announced shortly”.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said he had wrapped up a “very good call” with Gulf state leaders on Saturday afternoon and a separate call with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

”Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” the president wrote. “In addition to many other elements of the agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”

Iran also said it was “finalising” a memorandum of understanding to end the war. This would involve extending the current ceasefire for another 30 to 60 days, according to reports.

During this temporary truce, negotiators would discuss the exact details of a permanent settlement. Iran would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

“Our approach has been to draft a 14-point memorandum of understanding that includes the most important issues necessary for ending the war and matters that are fundamental for us,” said Esmaeil Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman.

“We are in the final stage of finalising this memorandum of understanding.”

Earlier, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said there had been “progress” in talks.

“There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say,” he said on a visit to India. “But this issue needs to be solved, as the president said, one way or another.”

A formal peace deal would mark an end to 85 days of war in which around 3,500 people have been killed, according to both US and Iranian estimates.

The conflict has repeatedly threatened to descend into a bloodier chapter, with Mr Trump at one point promising to wipe out a “whole civilisation” unless Tehran buckled to his demands.

Mr Trump was still dangling the risk of a return to full-scale conflict as late as Saturday, warning that failure to reach an agreement would shatter a month-long ceasefire.

He had said ahead of crunch talks with US allies in the Middle East that there was a “50-50” chance of a deal and that he was prepared to “blow them to kingdom come” if a deal with Tehran failed to materialise.

There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in recent days, with Gulf countries keen to avoid a resumption of hostilities.

Qatari and Pakistani mediators travelled to Tehran on Thursday and Friday for talks that were described as “highly productive”.

Pakistan’s top general, Asim Munir – a man described by Trump as his “favourite field marshal” – led the talks.

“During the visit, the Field Marshal held high-level engagements with Iranian leadership as part of ongoing mediation efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and constructive engagement,” a Pakistan military spokesman said.

Field Marshal Munir was relaying the Iranians’ demands to Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, as he held talks with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker, and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister.

JD Vance, the vice president, who was in Ohio, and Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, who was attending a graduation ceremony at West Point, rushed back to Washington as it became clear a deal was near.

Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, said a deal that effectively acknowledged Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz would be a “major shift of the balance of power” in the Middle East and a “nightmare” for Israel.

“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate (sic) force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he wrote on X.

“This combination of Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability the inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel.”

“Also, it makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate. I personally am a skeptic of the idea that Iran cannot be denied the ability to terrorise the Strait and the region cannot protect itself against Iranian military capability. It is important we get this right.”

Negotiations had stalled for weeks until then over US demands that Iran abandon its nuclear ambitions and hand over its existing stockpiles of enriched uranium.

It remained a stumbling block down to the wire, with Tehran insisting the “nuclear issue” would not form part of any draft agreement, despite President Trump’s suggestions later the same day that Iranian nuclear disarmament would be a key factor in any deal.

The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader in the initial attack.

Iran responded by launching retaliatory attacks on Israel and US-allied Gulf states, with fighting rapidly spilling into nearby regions such as Lebanon.

Footage of missiles raining down on cities including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates also threatened to shatter an image of growing stability in parts of the Middle East that the region has carefully cultivated in recent years.

Iran immediately closed the Strait of Hormuz using sea mines and naval patrols, trapping over a thousand ships in the Persian Gulf in a bid to gain leverage.

It prompted the US to enforce a counter-blockade on Iranian ports starting on April 13, which has been in place ever since.

The disruption triggered a major global energy crisis by blocking maritime transit in the vital choke-hold, through which about a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply flows.

It sent oil prices soaring to nearly $120 a barrel at its peak, with crude oil still hovering near the $100 mark earlier this week, nearly three months into the war.

This in turn has sent inflationary shockwaves across most global economies. While UK inflation fell to 2.8 per cent in the year to April, down from 3.3 per cent in the year to March, it is expected to rise to about 4 per cent by the end of the year on the back of the war in Iran.

Sir Keir Starmer has largely distanced himself from the conflict despite pressure from Mr Trump and insisted it is not Britain’s cross to bear.

Meanwhile, high inflation in the US driven by spiralling gas prices has piled increasing pressure on its president ahead of November’s midterm elections.

US prices rose by 3.8 per cent in April, marking their fastest rate since May 2023.

The impact on consumers has hammered Mr Trump’s popularity among US voters, with polling for the New York Times earlier this week showing 64 per cent saying they thought it was the wrong decision to go to war with Iran.

It included 22 per cent of Republican voters surveyed, and 93 per cent of Democrats.

The President has suggested it is a necessary price to pay to achieve his long-term goals in Iran, including ushering in regime change and stifling the country’s nuclear capabilities.

He said earlier this week that rising gas prices were “peanuts” and that his bottom line remained that “you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon”.

The US first executed strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, which Mr Trump claimed at the time had obliterated Tehran’s nuclear potential and enrichment capabilities.

Despite this, American missiles have continued to target key sites linked to Iran’s nuclear programme since the start of the conflict in February.

The White House believes that allowing Iran to develop a nuclear weapon would trigger a regional arms race that would widely destabilise the Middle East, and significantly increase the risk of nuclear conflict.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes and that it needs this technology to diversify its energy grid.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]