US government still obstructing some clauses of agreement to end war, says Iranian state media
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said that the US government is still obstructing some clauses of the agreement to end the war, including the issue of releasing blocked Iranian assets, according to Reuters. Some details of the deal are still unknown and nothing has been officially signed yet.
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Axios and CBS report that the agreement with Iran is not expected to be signed today, with an anonymous senior Trump official telling Axios there are a number of details that still need to be finalized.
The senior official also said that the Iranian government at the moment moves slowly and that it may take several days for the agreement to go through all the approvals.
The chief of the Lebanese Hezbollah group said their disarmament is unacceptable, amounting to “annihilation”, according to the AFP news service.
Marco Rubio says the US is 'beacon of hope' at event in India
Secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the US has served as a “beacon of hope, not just to around the world, but to individuals”, adding that his family were immigrants from Cuba.
“They came to the one place on Earth where people like them would have a chance to truly have a better life,” Rubio said during his speech at the Freedom 250 Independence Day reception in India.
Rubio’s statements sharply contrast with the Trump administration’s increasing attacks on immigrant communities nationwide. The administration has engaged in a “mass deportation” program to crack down on undocumented immigrants and has also targeted legal immigrants in the US.
Just this week, the Trump administration announced a significant change to immigration policy by requiring green card applicants to return to their home countries to apply.
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The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he and Trump agreed any final Iran deal must end “nuclear threat entirely”.
“President Trump and I agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely. This means dismantling Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities and removing enriched nuclear material from its territory,” Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night.
Drop Site News this weekend reported that a senior Iranian official said Israel is attempting to undermine the deal.
“Israel is currently undertaking its final extensive efforts and applying considerable pressure to disrupt the formation of this agreement,” the senior official told the outlet. “We hope that the U.S. administration will make its decision independently of external influence and in favor of the broader collective interests of all parties involved.”
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Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike in the country’s south on Saturday killed 11 people, including six women and a child, despite a supposed ceasefire.
“The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Sir al-Gharbiyeh in the Nabatieh district resulted in a massacre whose final toll is 11 dead including a child and six women, and nine wounded including four children and a woman,” the ministry said in a statement.
We have not been able to independently verify any of this information yet.
In his Truth Social post, Trump said former president Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was one of the “worst” deals the US had ever made. He promised that whatever agreement he will reach with Iran will be far superior.
Trump wrote: “It was a direct path to Iran developing a Nuclear Weapon. Not so with the transaction currently being negotiated with Iran by the Trump Administration - THE EXACT OPPOSITE, in fact!”
Under the JCPOA, international sanctions were lifted in exchange for limitations on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
As my colleague Oliver Holmes reports in this story, in 2018 Trump upset his European allies by unilaterally taking the US out of the deal and reinstating sanctions. He disliked the pact and was discouraged from diplomacy by Israel. As a result of the US withdrawal Tehran began stepping up its nuclear programme.
Now, after launching an unprovoked attack on Iran in February, Trump appears to be chasing a deal along the same contours as the JCPOA – and may even be offered worse terms.
Trump says he has told his representatives to not 'rush' into a deal with Iran
In a post to Truth Social, US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran are “proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner”, adding that he has told his representatives to not “rush” into a deal because time is on their “side”.
Trump said the US blockade on Iranian ports will remain in “full force” until an agreement is reached. “Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!” he wrote.
Echoing the comments given to the media earlier by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Trump said Iran cannot “develop or procure” a nuclear weapon or bomb under any circumstances.
He said the US’s relationship with Iran is becoming much more “professional and productive” and thanked Middle Eastern countries for their “support and cooperation”.
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Israeli military orders residents of more Lebanese towns and villages to evacuate ahead of attacks
The Israeli military has ordered residents of more Lebanese towns and villages to evacuate immediately by a “distance of no less than 1000 meters to open areas” in advance of attacks against the locations.
The affected towns and villages are: Kfar Sir, Sir al-Gharbiyyah, al-Zrariyah, Ansar, Mazra’at Kouthariyat, al-Riz and al-Khuraib, according to a social media post by the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, who claimed the attacks are being launched due to Hezbollah violating the US-mediated ceasefire agreement Israel signed with the Lebanese state in mid April.
Earlier, the IDF ordered the evacuation of ten villages in southern Lebanon.
International law experts say Israel’s warnings are inconsistent and often overly broad and open-ended. Sometimes there is no warning at all before the airstrikes. More than one million people have already been displaced by the renewed Israeli war on Lebanon which started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran in late February.
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News of the potential US-Iran deal triggered dismay among Republican hawks, who had spent years calling for US military action against Iran, and deriding the 2015 deal to limit Iran’s nuclear enrichment in return for sanctions relief negotiated during the Obama administration.
Trump withdrew from that international deal, known as the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA), in 2018.
Mike Pompeo, who served as CIA director and secretary of state during Trump’s first term, denounced the current proposed agreement as too close to what Barack Obama’s negotiators had achieved and a boon to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world,” Pompeo wrote on social media, referring to Obama’s chief negotiators.
The alternative, Pompeo added, is “straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.”
Malley responded: “Not quite the path Wendy, Ben or I would have taken. But if this deal brings an end to an unlawful, unjustifiable war, to the senseless loss of life and destruction and to the cascading global economic fallout, I am quite sure we’d willingly accept it over the alternative.”
You can read more here:
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A Bahraini court sentenced nine defendants to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out what it described as “hostile and terrorist acts” against Bahrain, the state news agency said, Reuters reports.
The defendants were involved in gathering information on sensitive sites and facilitating related financial transfers, the statement said.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said on 9 May that it had arrested 41 people it said were linked to the IRGC. The ministry said security authorities had uncovered a group tied to the IRGC while public prosecutor investigations also involved cases related to sympathy with Iranian attacks.
Sources have told Reuters the proposed framework for peace would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.
Two Pakistani sources told the news agency that, according to the proposed memorandum, the Strait would be opened immediately after the US lifted its blockade. Marco Rubio said that, if the outline was agreed on, it would mean “completely open straits”, and “without tolls”.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency said any changes in navigation through the strait of Hormuz were conditional on implementation of other commitments by the US. It also said some Iranian funds that have been frozen globally as part of sanctions must be released in the first phase of the deal.
One of the Pakistani sources said if the US accepted the memorandum, further talks could take place after the Muslim Eid holiday ends next Friday.
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Israel issues first response to potential US-Iran peace deal
According to the NY Times, the Israeli government has issued its first response to the potential US-Iran deal.
In a written statement given to journalists, an unnamed Israeli official said Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed the agreement with Donald Trump last night over the phone.
The NY Times reports that the official described the deal as an initial understanding about the reopening of the strait of Hormuz that would lead to further talks on a final agreement.
The official said that Netanyahu made it clear to Trump that Israel would not be constrained in responding to “all threats”, including across the border in Lebanon.
Netanyahu is said to actually want to resume the war on Iran in order to degrade the country’s military capabilities further and continue attacks on its infrastructure.
Donald Trump, whose poll ratings have suffered in the US over the deeply unpopular war, seems more interested in reaching an agreement with Tehran, although he has repeatedly said he will resume attacks if one cannot be reached and gives often contradictory statements.
Iran has said an end to Israel’s war on Lebanon has to form part of any agreement with Washington.
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The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a “limited” security cabinet meeting this evening to discuss the US-Iran deal.
As reported, the draft agreement could include ending the war on all fronts, including Israel’s assault on Lebanon. Netanyahu, who is pushing for the complete disarmament of Hezbollah, is unlikely to be happy with that provision if it does end up being included in the deal.
Israel has continued striking Lebanon regularly, both south and north of the Litani River in south Lebanon, despite a US-brokered ceasefire coming into effect last month.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, has fired rockets and drones into northern Israel and against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,111 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started on 2 March.
Israel’s deadly air assault – and ground invasion – were in response to Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel after the US and Israel killed the former Iranian supreme leader in Tehran on 28 February.
Here is the video of US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, hailing the “significant progress” he said had been made on Iran talks – before explaining why he is only being cautiously optimistic (see post at 08.49 for more details):
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Iran’s Tasnim news agency is reporting that Tehran has made no commitments in the draft agreement to hand over any of its nuclear material.
It said all issues “regarding the nuclear matter” have been postponed, adding that the current draft is limited to “ending the war”.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed signs of progress in US-Iran peace talks.
“I welcome the progress towards an agreement between the US and Iran. We need a deal that truly de-escalates the conflict, reopens the strait of Hormuz and guarantees toll-free full freedom of navigation. Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
“It must also end its destabilising actions in the region, directly or through proxies, as well as its unjustified and repeated attacks on its neighbours,” she added.
A senior Iranian source has told the Reuters news agency that if Iran’s supreme national security council approved the memorandum, it would be sent to supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei for final approval.
No verified recording or visual sighting of Khamenei has been broadcast since he was appointed supreme leader in early March. Reports have suggested that he was severely injured in the US-Israeli bombing that killed his 86-year-old father and predecessor on 28 February.
What could be in the potential US-Iran deal?
As we have been reporting, Donald Trump has said that a Memorandum of Understanding in talks to end the US-Israel war on Iran “has been largely negotiated”.
Official details of the potential deal are scant and it remains possible that some aspects of the memo could change. But here is what we know so far about the potential agreement that could bring an end to the war.
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What could be included in the agreement?
– The deal would involve a 60-day ceasefire extension during which the strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran could freely sell oil, and talks on limiting Iran’s nuclear program would be held, a US official told Axios.
- Iran would also agree to clear the mines it deployed in the strait and not impose any tolls on ships – and in exchange, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports that has been in effect since 13 April, Axios reported.
- The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the deal could achieve “a completely open” strait of Hormuz “without tolls” if successful.
- But Iranian media reported that the strait of Hormuz would remain under Iranian control.
- The deal would reportedly unfreeze some Iranian assets that are being held in banks outside Iran.
- Hostilities would reportedly be halted on all fronts, including Israel and Lebanon.
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What is likely to not be included?
- A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that Tehran had not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile.
– The source said Iran’s nuclear issue was not part of the preliminary agreement with the US.
– The statement came after the NY Times, citing two US officials, reported that Tehran had apparently expressed a willingness to give up its stockpile.
– Even if Tehran does agree to give up some of its HEU stockpile, there has been no mention of how this would happen in practice.
– There has also been little mention of Iran’s ballistic missile programme or the curbing of its support for its regional allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen.
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The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he supports the nearing of an agreement between the US and Iran toward ending the war and reopening the strait of Hormuz. In a post on X, Starmer wrote:
I welcome the progress towards an agreement between the US and Iran. We need to see an agreement that brings the conflict to an end and reopens the strait of Hormuz, with unconditional and unrestricted freedom of navigation.
It’s vital that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. My government will continue to do everything we can to protect British people from the impact of this conflict. We will work with our international partners to seize this moment and achieve a long-term diplomatic settlement.
Rubio said that the path to a durable agreement would require “full Iranian acceptance and then compliance”, and “future work” would have to be done to finalise “the details”.
“When you are talking about a nuclear programme, as an example, these are highly technical matters and ones that would probably need to be addressed over some period of time,” the secretary of state said.
Responding to the criticism of the emerging deal from senior Republicans (see post at 08.28), Rubio said Donald Trump’s commitment to Iran never possessing a nuclear weapon is unwavering.
“And the idea that somehow this president, given everything he has already proven he is willing to do, is going to somehow agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions is absurd,” he said.
“That is just not going to happen. But our preference is to address this through a diplomatic means and that is what we are endeavouring to do here.”
Rubio says 'significant' progress made in talks with Iran
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has been talking to reporters in New Delhi during a diplomatic visit to India.
“I do think perhaps there is the possibility that in the next few hours the world will get some good news,” Rubio told the media.
He added that “significant” progress had been made in peace talks with Iran but cautioned that this was not “final” progress. Rubio reiterated that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon and that the strait of Hormuz has to be open to global marine traffic without tolls being charged by Tehran for safe passage.
Rubio said:
We have made some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline that could ultimately – if it succeeds – leave us not just with a completely open strait … and with addressing some of the key things that underpin what has been Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.
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While there is little doubt that waves of US and Israeli airstrikes heavily degraded Iran’s military capabilities, many of Donald Trump’s core objectives remain unfulfilled and he is now essentially trying to get back to the status quo of the strait of Hormuz being freely open to international vessels.
A stockpile of highly enriched uranium is also still believed to remain buried following US and Israeli airstrikes last June and Iran reportedly retains much of its pre-war missile stockpile despite US-Israeli attacks.
Texas senator Ted Cruz has said he is “deeply concerned” about the reports of the potential deal being struck between Tehran and Washington.
He said Donald Trump was right to launch the initial strikes on Iran in late February, in which the country’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed, but urged the president to “continue to hold the line”.
“He was right to do so, and we achieved extraordinary military results-including destroying all of their missiles & drones and sinking their entire navy,” Cruz, who is among the Republican lawmakers most supportive of airstrikes on Iran, wrote in a post on X.
“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime-still run by Islamists who chant “death to America”-now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”
Interim summary
In case you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of the day’s key news amid the Middle East crisis.
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The US and Iran reportedly sought on Sunday to finalise an agreement to formally end the Middle East war after Donald Trump said a proposal that included reopening the strait of Hormuz was “largely negotiated”. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform, without giving details.
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Trump emphasised the deal was still “subject to finalisation”, while news reports said a draft indicated the two sides would address contentious issues about Iran’s nuclear program only after an initial pact was reached.
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Leaders from Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain as well as Pakistani and Turkish representatives joined a call with Trump to discuss the deal on Saturday, the US president said.
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Mediator Pakistan hoped to host another round of talks “very soon”, said the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif. US vice-president JD Vance led US delegation to Islamabad in the first round of peace talks with Iran six weeks ago which ended without an agreement.
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Trump said a separate call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “went very well”.
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The potential US-Iran agreement involves a 60-day ceasefire extension during which the Hormuz strait would be reopened, the Axios new site reported, and Tehran would be able to freely sell oil. Negotiations would be held on curbing Iran’s nuclear program, it said, citing an American official, while also saying the details were in an agreement draft and “could still fall apart”.
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Iran has not commented on Trump’s announcement of a deal being close but Iran’s Tasnim semi-official news agency said that under a potential memorandum of understanding the US would waive its sanctions against selling Iranian oil. It also said Tehran had not yet agreed to any actions on its nuclear program and that the potential agreement included ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon.
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The results of the latest negotiations on the Iran war “offer grounds for optimism that a positive and durable outcome is within reach”, the foreign minister of mediator Pakistan said.
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Former Trump secretary of state Mike Pompeo denounced the apparent emerging deal as benefiting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and being too close to the terms Barack Obama’s negotiators struck with Iran in a nuclear agreement Trump later abandoned.
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In Lebanon, the civil defence agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike. The agency condemned “this attack on a centre dedicated to humanitarian and relief work”, also saying there were no reports of casualties among its personnel.
With news agencies
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Iran’s Tasnim semi-official news agency is saying Tehran has not yet agreed to any actions on its nuclear program and that under the potential memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US, Washington would waive its sanctions against selling Iranian oil.
The MOU also emphasises ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, according to Tasnim, and that Israel would have to end the war in Lebanon.
It said a 30-day period would be allocated for procedures relating to the strait of Hormuz and an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports, while a 60-day period would be set for nuclear negotiations.
Under the MOU, part of Iran’s frozen funds must be released during the first phase of the agreement, Tasnim is saying, quoted by Reuters.
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The foreign minister of mediator Pakistan has said the achievements of the latest negotiations on the Iran war “offer grounds for optimism that a positive and durable outcome is within reach”.
Ishaq Dar said Donald Trump’s phone call with Middle Eastern leaders and Pakistan “marks a significant step closer toward the shared objective of regional peace, stability and an early diplomatic outcome”.
He also said in the post on X:
Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all sincere efforts aimed at lasting peace, mutual respect, and regional stability.”
Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, added:
Dialogue and diplomacy must prevail over conflict and confrontation for the collective prosperity and security of our region and beyond.”
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he welcomes the latest developments on the Iran war and believes “appropriate solutions” can be found on the nuclear and other contentious issues.
Erdoğan also said Turkey “stands ready to provide every kind of support” during the potential deal’s implementation phase and that “a just peace would have no losers”.
A post on X from the Turkish presidency said held a teleconference with Donald Trump and Middle Eastern leaders and mediator Pakistan as well as US cabinet members and expressed that “an agreement to secure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz would support stability in the region, providing a relief to global economy”.
In the call Erdoğan said that “appropriate solutions could be found over the course of the process to the issues that look contentious within the context of Iran, including the nuclear issue”.
The post also said:
Underscoring that Türkiye desires a new era in which countries of the region do not pose threats to one another, President Erdoğan added that a just peace would have no losers.”
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Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia has said conditions are now right for Middle Eastern countries to “unite in the reconstruction of the region” and build it up.
Alireza Enayati also said on X (in a translation) that Iran had “strong ropes that have kept the tent of Iran safe from fierce winds and destructive storms throughout history” and that it “remains proud” during hardships.
He said:
Iran is a new opportunity for the region to think about the future by moving away from the repetitive literature of the past. Now, conditions are in place for all countries in the region to unite in the reconstruction of the region and to work together to build the region.”
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Iran executed one person for charges related to sending information to the US and Israel during the war, the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The individual was sending data about Iran’s defence industry to “the enemy”, the news agency alleged.
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The draft agreement between the US and Iran also makes clear the Israel- Hezbollah war in Lebanon would end, Axios is reporting.
The newsite quotes an unnamed Israeli official as saying Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed concern about that condition – and other aspects of the deal – during a call with Donald Trump on Saturday.
The report went on:
The US official said it would not be a ‘one-sided ceasefire’ and if Hezbollah tried to rearm or instigate attacks, Israel would be allowed to take action to prevent it. ‘If Hezbollah behaves, Israel will behave.’”
As just mentioned, the report says the agreement is only in unfinalised draft form and “could still fall apart”, according to a US official.
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Peace draft involves reopening Hormuz strait during 60-day truce extension – report
The agreement the US and Iran are reportedly close to signing involves a 60-day ceasefire extension during which the strait of Hormuz would be reopened, according to Axios.
During that time Iran would be able to freely sell oil and negotiations would be held on curbing Iran’s nuclear program, the US news site is reporting, citing an American official, while also saying the details were in an agreement “draft” as it currently stood.
“Those details have not been confirmed by the Iranian side, though Tehran has also indicated a deal is getting close,” the report says.
Some of the draft details look to align with what is being reported from sources quoted by the Associated Press and the New York Times, as our full report details.
The deal would avoid an escalation of the war and decrease the pressure on the global oil supply, Axios says, adding:
However, it’s unclear whether it will lead to a lasting peace agreement that also addresses President Trump’s nuclear demands.”
The report says that during the 60-day Hormuz strait reopening, Iran would agree to clear mines it deployed in the waterway and allow ships to pass freely. In exchange, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports.
The report also says:
Both Trump and the mediators have indicated the deal could be announced on Sunday, though it has not been finalized and could still fall apart.”
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Amid Israel’s strikes on Lebanon this weekend, Hezbollah said Iran pledged not to abandon the militant group.
Tehran-backed Hezbollah said its leader, Naim Qassem, had received a message from Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi saying the latest proposal through Pakistani mediators aimed ending the regional war emphasised “the demand to include Lebanon” in the broader ceasefire.
Lebanese authorities, however, have insisted the country’s ongoing talks with Israel under US auspices must be independent from the Iran-US negotiations, as AFP reports.
Israel’s military has been pounding Lebanon despite the US-brokered truce that was recently extended by six weeks, while Hezbollah has also kept up attacks on Israeli targets.
The group said Araghchi’s message indicated Iran “will not give up its support” for Hezbollah.
Iran has previously demanded there be a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before any peace deal with the US.
Hezbollah has vehemently rejected the US-hosted talks between Lebanon and Israel that led to the truce.
Lebanon’s military stressed this week that its soldiers were loyal to the institution after the US announced sanctions that included an officer accused of sharing information with Hezbollah.
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Israeli strike destroys Lebanese civil defence building, agency says
In Lebanon, the civil defence agency said early on Sunday its regional facility in the southern city of Nabatieh had been destroyed by an Israeli strike.
The Directorate General of Civil Defence said the building had collapsed and a large number of vehicles and equipment had been damaged by a “direct hit in a hostile Israeli strike”.
It added there were no reports of casualties among its personnel, who had been moved to another location before the incident, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
The civil defence agency condemned “this attack on a centre dedicated to humanitarian and relief work”, stressing that it was facing “growing risks and challenges” in carrying out its operations.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon have continued despite a truce that came into effect on 17 April, with Israel saying it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has kept up attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and northern Israel.
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A key element of the proposed agreement between Iran and the US is an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the New York Times is quoting US officials as saying.
The officials said the proposal did not settle the issue of precisely how Iran would give up its stockpile, putting off the details for a coming round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the report said.
But a general statement that Iran would commit to doing so – a longtime US goal – was critical to the deal, it said.
Iran originally balked at including any agreement on its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in this apparent initial phase, demanding it be put off until the second stage of talks. But US negotiators said they made clear to Iran that without some agreement on the stockpile in the initial part of the deal, they would walk away and resume their military campaign, the report said.
White House officials did not return Times requests for comment. Iran hasn’t commented publicly on the agreement Trump flagged.
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Pakistan hopes to host US-Iran peace talks 'very soon' – PM
Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Donald Trump on his peace efforts and said Pakistan hopes to host another round of talks between the US and Iran “very soon”.
Sharif also said in a post on X that the US president held a “very useful and productive” phone call earlier in the day with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Pakistan, with Pakistani army chief Syed Asim Munir also on the line.
Sharif said:
The discussions provided a useful opportunity to exchange views on the current regional situation and how to move the ongoing peace efforts forward to bring lasting peace in the region. Pakistan will continue its peace efforts with utmost sincerity and we hope to host the next round of talks very soon.”
US vice-president JD Vance led a US delegation to Islamabad in the first round of peace talks with Iran six weeks ago, which ended without an agreement.
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Mike Pompeo condemns emerging deal
Former Trump secretary of state Mike Pompeo has sharply criticised the apparent emerging terms of a peace deal as benefiting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and being too close to those Barack Obama’s negotiators struck with Iran in a nuclear agreement Donald Trump later abandoned.
Pompeo said in a post on X:
The deal being floated with Iran seems straight out of the Wendy Sherman-Robert Malley-Ben Rhodes playbook: Pay the IRGC to build a WMD program and terrorize the world. Not remotely America First. It’s straightforward: Open the damned strait. Deny Iran access to money. Take out enough Iranian capability so it cannot threaten our allies in the region.”
Pompeo was secretary of state and CIA director during Trump’s first term.
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Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has posted a cryptic message on X that might be read as referring to Donald Trump.
Esmaeil Baqaei’s post says:
In the Roman mind, Rome was the undisputed center of the world. Yet the Iranians shattered that illusion; when Marcus Julius Philippus (Philip the Arab) marched east against Persia, the campaign did not result in Roman victory — it ended in a peace established on Sasanian terms: the emperor had to come to terms!
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Trump’s announcement of a deal with Iran being close said it would involve reopening the strait of Hormuz, without giving further details – but getting the waterway reopened has been a central concern for Washington amid the war.
Why is the strait so important? It’s one of the world’s most vital arteries for global trade, and Iran’s chokehold on it has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring, bringing fears of driving a global economic downturn.
About 20% of all global oil supplies and seaborne gas tankers pass through the strait.
It lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf to the north with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond – a location that makes it a crucial chokepoint for oil deliveries from Opec countries to customers in Asia. Options to bypass the strait are limited.
You can read more in this explainer:
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Pakistan says 'encouraging' progress towards peace deal
The Pakistani army has said the negotiations with Iran resulted in “encouraging” progress towards a final understanding.
The deal being negotiated was “fairly comprehensive to terminate the war”, two Pakistani sources involved in the negotiations to end the war told Reuters.
Iran had said on Saturday that it was working towards a memorandum of understanding with the US laying out an approach to ending the war after its top officials met with Pakistani army chief Asim Munir.
Reuters quoted sources as saying the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.
One of the Pakistani sources also there was no guarantee the US would accept the memorandum. If it did, it would lead to further talks after the Eid holiday ended on Friday.
On Saturday Donald Trump told Axios he expected to decide on Sunday whether to resume attacks on Iran. “Either we reach a good deal or I’ll blow them to a thousand hells,” the news site quoted him as saying.
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Trump’s social media post made no mention of Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, which Tehran has sought to negotiate over later, but came amid growing optimism among officials over a potential deal to end the war.
Earlier on Saturday, a regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts said the US and Iran were closing in on an agreement.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door deliberations, also told the Associated Press that “last-minute disputes” could blow up the efforts.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.
The official said the deal would include an official declaration of the end of the war, with two-month negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The strait of Hormuz would be reopened and the US would end its blockade of Iran’s ports .
Iran, meanwhile, had signalled “narrowing differences” in negotiations after Pakistani army chief Asim Munir held more talks in Tehran.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio earlier pointed to “some good signs” while also saying: “I don’t want to be overly optimistic … so let’s see what happens over the next few days.”
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Donald Trump made the announcement via a Truth Social post, saying he had spoken to a host of leaders in the Middle East by phone, including a separate call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said “went very well”.
He added: “Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”
As we reported in the summary, the Fars news agency, which is close to the regime in Tehran, has said Trump’s assertion that an agreement was nearly final was “inconsistent with reality”.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Iran war and the wider Middle East crisis.
Donald Trump has announced that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated”, after calls with a Pakistani mediator, Gulf allies and Israel, potentially paving the way for an end to the war launched by the US and Israel in February.
Trump wrote that the “final aspects and details” of a “Memorandum of Understanding” are still being discussed and “will be announced shortly”, but said the strait of Hormuz will be opened as part of the deal.
However, Iran’s Fars news agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the strait would remain under Iranian control, and that Trump’s assertion that an agreement was nearly final was “inconsistent with reality”.
Three senior Iranian officials told the New York Times the agreement would stop the fighting in Iran and in Lebanon, and could release $25bn in Iranian assets frozen overseas, with a nuclear agreement to be negotiated within 30 to 60 days.
We will bring you the latest developments, as they happen.
