Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that a peace deal with Iran has been 'largely negotiated', following calls with a Pakistani mediator, Gulf allies, and Israel. The US president said the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened as part of the agreement, which he described as a memorandum of understanding still being finalised.
However, Iran's Fars news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the Strait of Hormuz would remain under Iranian control, contradicting Trump's assertion. The agency said management of the strait, including determining routes and issuing permits, would continue to be Tehran's monopoly.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later congratulated Trump on his peace efforts and said Pakistan hoped to host another round of talks 'very soon'. He described the US president's call with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, and Pakistan as productive.
According to reports, a revised proposal submitted by Iran and Pakistan to the US includes reopening the strait with no tolls during a 60-day ceasefire extension, allowing Iran to freely sell oil, and negotiations on curbing its 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, release $25bn in frozen Iranian assets, and include a nuclear agreement to be negotiated within 30 to 60 days. Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that the call 'went very well'.
