Donald Trump has claimed that a peace deal with Iran is “largely negotiated”, following calls with Pakistani mediators, Gulf allies and Israel. The US president wrote on his social media platform that a memorandum of understanding was being finalised and would be announced shortly, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened as part of the agreement.
However, Iran’s Fars news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, contradicted Trump’s assertion, reporting that the strait would remain under Iranian control. It stated that “the management of the Strait, determining the route, time, method of passage, and issuing permits will continue to be the monopoly and discretion of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, and described Trump’s claim as “inconsistent with reality”.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Trump on his peace efforts and said Pakistan hoped to host another round of talks “very soon”. He described a call between Trump and leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Pakistan as “very useful and productive”. Pakistan’s army chief, Syed Asim Munir, has been a key figure in negotiations, holding recent meetings in Tehran with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
According to reports, the potential deal would include a 60-day ceasefire extension, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz with no tolls, and negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. In exchange, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports. Three senior Iranian officials told the New York Times the agreement would stop fighting in Iran and Lebanon and could release $25bn in frozen Iranian assets overseas.
Trump’s announcement came amid continued threats of US strikes if no deal was reached. He told CBS and Axios he would only sign a deal “where we get everything we want”. The news has dismayed Republican hawks who had long called for military action against Iran.
