US President Donald Trump said he was making his final decision on a potential deal with Iran on Friday, as Tehran insisted any agreement on ending the US-Israel war with Iran hinged on Washington dropping its “excessive demands”.
Iran’s top negotiator had said earlier that Tehran would only trust Washington’s actions, not its words, after US Vice President JD Vance said progress had been made on a deal to extend a ceasefire and provide a framework for peace talks.
US sources told AFP the deal was just waiting on Trump’s sign-off following weeks of halting negotiations to end a conflict that had engulfed the Middle East and shaken the global economy.
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post, reiterating long-held demands that Iran agree never to have nuclear weapons and open the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes.
He said Tehran would remove mines in the strait, the US would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, and the two countries would coordinate on removing and destroying Iran’s enriched uranium, though he did not clarify whether the points had already been agreed or were part of the deal under consideration.
Trump’s post came as Iran’s top diplomat suggested the US was holding up a deal with its approach to the negotiations.
American attitude
In a call with his Omani counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “indicated that arriving at a final agreement depended on ending the American party’s attitude based on excessive demands and shifting and contradictory positions”, his ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, Iran’s parliament speaker, who led its delegation at peace talks with the US in Pakistan last month, said Tehran had gained leverage not “through talks, but through missiles”, and was sceptical of US promises.
“We place no trust in guarantees or words; only actions matter. No step will be taken before the other side acts first,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.
Hopes of an agreement had risen on Thursday after US officials were positive about the direction of diplomacy, with Vance telling reporters “a lot of progress” had been made.
Optimism around a possible US-Iran deal boosted Asian stock markets on Friday, while oil prices receded slightly.
Energy markets have swung on hopes of a deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran has yet to endorse any agreement and has signalled it would reject a deal announced unilaterally by Trump.
On Friday, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source, said the text had not yet been finalised and that the wording of the potential memorandum of understanding had “undergone some changes in recent days”.
