Uncertainty over US-Iran peace talks continues after Trump ends situation room meeting without final decision | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated meeting in the Situation Room to make a “final decision” on the interim deal with Iran concluded about two hours later on Friday (local time).
Citing sources, CNN reported that despite Trump’s earlier suggestion that the meeting would end in a final decision, it remained unclear afterward whether he planned to sign a proposed deal with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear talks.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance were among those attending the meeting, the report added.
Read also | Trump cites 5 conditions to make final decision on Iran deal
Trump is considering a deal with Iran
Before the meeting, Trump said he was trying to make a “final decision.” A senior administration official later said the roughly two-hour meeting with national security advisers had ended.
Shortly before the meeting, the US president laid out the conditions for the Islamic Republic on his Truth Social post and reiterated that the final call for an agreement would be made later that day. He wrote: “Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon or a bomb. The Strait of Hormuz must be opened immediately, without tolls, to unlimited shipping, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have detonated numerous such mines with our large underwater minesweeper. Iran/or mines will not complete immediate removal and no mines will complete many!)
He added: “I will now meet in the situation room to make the final decision.”
The high-level talks were confirmed after media reported that US and Iranian negotiators had agreed on a tentative deal. The deal would extend the fragile truce by 60 days as new talks take place over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.
Read also | Strait of Hormuz, nuclear stockpiles: Two sticking points in Iran-US talks
US deal not done: Iran
Iran’s chief negotiator said on Friday he “doesn’t trust guarantees or words”, only actions, underscoring lingering mistrust after the US and Israel attacked Iran twice in the past year while it was engaged in nuclear talks.
In a post on X, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote: “We don’t make concessions through dialogue, but through missiles; we only make them understood in negotiations. We don’t trust guarantees or words – only actions are the measure. No action will be taken until the other side intervenes. The winner of any deal is the one who is better prepared for war the day after.”
Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said today that Washington and Tehran are still in contact, but a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two nations has not yet been finalized. In an interview with Iranian state television, Baghaei said: “As I speak to you, the exchange of messages is of course ongoing, but no final agreement has been reached.”
Nuclear issues unresolved
Earlier on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance indicated that negotiators were trying to reach general terms on Tehran’s nuclear program, with details to come in upcoming talks.
Read also | Here’s how Indian vessels cross the Strait of Hormuz amid US-Iran tensions
But Baghaei said Friday that Iranian officials were “focused on ending the war and are not discussing the details of the nuclear plan at this time.”
Iran also wants any deal to include a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, where fighting has intensified despite a nominal ceasefire. And the Islamic Republic is seeking to release billions of dollars in frozen funds, the AP reported.
The US and Iran have agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
The proposed memorandum of understanding makes clear that Tehran would not be able to impose a toll on the Strait of Hormuz and that it would also remove all mines from the arterial waterway within 30 days, according to a US official.
Washington would gradually lift the blockade of Iranian ports and also agree to loosen sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.
Baghaei said Iran and Oman, which lie on opposite sides of the strait, will manage it and “adopt mechanisms” for transit through it, “based on their own national interests and those of the international community.”
Iran effectively closed the strait after the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on February 28 that killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials. By then, the waterway was open to international traffic and about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through it. The closure of the strait caused a sharp rise in the prices of fuel and other goods, with effects far beyond the borders of the Middle East.
