Trump says peace deal to end war with Iran is 'largely negotiated' – USA Today
President Donald Trump announced that a deal to end the war between the United States and Iran has been “largely negotiated” after weeks of talks aimed at turning a six-week ceasefire into a permanent peace.
The president’s May 23 social media post indicated an agreement to end the nearly 3-month-old war could be finalized soon, with Trump saying final details are being worked through and will be released “shortly.”
“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said, adding: “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”
The president made the announcement after a call with regional leaders from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Bahrain. He also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately.
The deal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said. Iran’s ability to impede shipping traffic through the strait, which transports roughly 20% of the world’s oil, has roiled the global economy and driven up gas prices in the United States.
Trump’s announcement comes amid a fragile ceasefire that began April 7. At multiple points the agreement appeared ready to fall apart. U.S. and Iranian forces launched strikes on each other. The president repeatedly said he was considering renewing attacks on the Islamic republic.
Trump told Axios on May 23, shortly before his public announcement that a deal was being finalized, that it was a “solid 50/50,” on whether a “good” deal would be reached or he instead would “blow them to kingdom come.”
In addition to reopening the strait, Trump had demanded Tehran disavow efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iranian leaders previously balked at Trump’s demands and it’s not clear whether the nuclear issue stands in the deal being negotiated.
The United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28 and spent weeks bombing Iran’s military infrastructure before the ceasefire took hold. Israel has also been in conflict with Lebanon. It wasn’t immediately clear what impact the agreement will have on the Israel-Lebanon sphere of the war.
Trump and top aides spent Saturday at the White House working on the peace deal. The president didn’t attend his oldest son’s wedding, saying he needed to stay in Washington D.C. “during this important period of time.” Trump was joined at the White House by Vice President JD Vance, who traveled to Pakistan last month to negotiate directly with the Iranians.
Visiting India on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the Trump administration’s demands for any peace deal. “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The straits need to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their enriched uranium.”
Iran’s Fars news agency reported early on Sunday that the agreement would allow Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz. It said Trump’s assertion that an agreement was nearly final was “inconsistent with reality.”
Iran had said earlier on Saturday that it was working toward a memorandum of understanding laying out an approach to ending the war after its top officials met with Asim Munir, the army chief of Pakistan. The Pakistani army said the negotiations had resulted in “encouraging” progress towards a final understanding.
Iran denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. It has demanded supervision of the strait, an end to the U.S. blockade on its ports and the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
“The trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators. We will have to wait and see where the situation ends in the next three or four days,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.
Contributing: Reuters
Thank you for joining us.
