Trump defers ‘final determination’ on draft deal with Iran

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN/NEW YORK – US President Donald Trump on Friday deferred his “final determination” on a draft deal with Iran after meeting for about two hours with his national security team at the White House Situation Room.

“The Situation Room meeting has concluded and lasted approximately two hours. President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his redlines. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon,” a White House official said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear why Trump did not reach a decision.

Earlier on Friday, Trump outlined conditions for a deal with Iran in a post on Truth Social, claiming he will be meeting his national security team “to make a final determination” on the day.

Among the US key demands are the elimination of Iran’s enriched nuclear materials, reopening the Hormuz Strait with no tolls and removing water mines left.

“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated,” Trump wrote.

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The US Naval blockade “will now be lifted,” said Trump.

Iran’s enriched nuclear material, the so-called “nuclear dust” which has been buried deep underground due to US bombing in June last year, will be unearthed by the United States in close coordination and conjunction with Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency and destroyed, said Trump.

In terms of the financial compensation for the conflict demanded by Iran and the idea of investments suggested by the White House, Trump said “no money will be exchanged, until further notice”.

‘No agreement finalized with US’

In a telephone interview with state-run IRIB TV on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said no agreement has been finalized with the United States yet and the exchange of messages between the two sides is continuing.

Baghaei reiterated that Iran’s current focus in the negotiations “is on ending the war”.

“We have no talk on details of the issues pertaining to Iran’s uranium enrichment or enriched uranium at this stage,” he said.

He also said current negotiations were limited in scope and did not include “the nuclear issue”.

Speaking about the possible re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said future management of the strait “concerns only Iran and Oman”.

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Trump: Potential peace deal ‘mixture of truths, lies’

Citing informed sources, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said Trump’s latest remarks about a possible agreement with Iran to end the conflict is “a mixture of truths and lies”. 

The draft of the potential agreement is in the final stages of being approved by Iran, and no definitive decision has been made yet, Fars said.

It clarified that neither Trump’s demand for Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open toll-free nor any requirement to eliminate or destroy Iran’s nuclear materials appears in the agreement’s text.

The most important part of the agreement to which Trump has not pointed is Iran’s insistence on the release of $12 billion of its frozen assets, it added.

Concessions ‘with missiles, not through dialogue’

In a post on social media platform X, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran obtains concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles.

Qalibaf, who is Tehran’s top negotiator in peace talks with Washington, said, “We obtain concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles; in negotiations we merely make them understandable,” while outlining Iran’s approach to the ongoing negotiations with the United States aimed at ending the conflict.

He added Iran has no trust in the other side’s guarantees or words, stressing that “only actions are the criteria (for Iran’s decisions).”

US sanctions Iranian procurement network

Also on Friday, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said an Iran-based procurement network has been added to its Specially Designated Nationals List in a fresh sanctions move under the US Economic Fury campaign.

In a press release, OFAC claimed that an Iranian, via his company, impersonated US small businesses to procure restricted goods from other US-based small businesses for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and other sanctioned Iranian end users.

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OFAC also put several other people, who it claims helped the person facilitate the transfer of US-origin products to Iran, on the Specially Designated Nationals List.

24 more ships cross Hormuz

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said 24 ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz within the past 24 hours in coordination with its Navy.

The vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships, crossed the waterway after obtaining permission from and under the protection of its naval forces, according to the IRGC.

The IRGC said Iran is exercising smart control over the Strait of Hormuz with power, and will respond to any violation with “crushing blows”.