BEIRUT — President Donald Trump declared Friday that a deal to end the U.S.-Iranian war was nearly complete and would be signed in Europe as early as this weekend, hours after Iranian state media published what it said were the terms of a draft memorandum of understanding — only for Trump to denounce those terms as “fake news” with “no relation to the truth.”
The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, details of which were reported by Axios and corroborated by diplomats from mediating countries, calls for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen immediately without tolls, a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire including in Lebanon, and a pathway toward addressing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. But any resolution of the nuclear question would require a second, more detailed accord — one that Western officials say remains far from settled.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday, said Vice President J.D. Vance was expected to attend a signing ceremony in Europe as soon as this weekend. “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “What they said bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, pushed back publicly, saying the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran had “never been closer” to being finalized — but urging media outlets to refrain from speculating about its contents until it was complete. Araqchi said Iran would share all details with the public in due course, calling it Tehran’s “responsible and transparent” approach.
Tehran has also rejected any suggestion it would cede control over the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil shipping chokepoint, under any agreement with Washington. Iranian state media reported that Khamenei — who has not been seen in public since being wounded on the first day of the conflict — was ready to sign off on the deal, though Trump himself said he believed the supreme leader was prepared to act.
Trump separately condemned an Iranian drone attack overnight against Indian ships transiting the Hormuz Strait, calling it “totally unacceptable” and warning Tehran to “get their act together, and fast.” The attack came as commercial vessels began testing whether the disputed waterway could safely resume operations following the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces struck targets in Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Friday, according to Reuters reporting from the area. The strike underscored that even as diplomats race toward a framework agreement, fighting continues on multiple fronts across the region.
Mediating countries, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Pakistan, have been in constant contact with both sides. Pakistan, which carried a letter from Washington to Khamenei earlier this week, said Friday it remained “actively engaged” in facilitating dialogue.
World leaders are watching closely. A successful Hormuz reopening would ease a major source of global oil market disruption that has pushed crude above $100 per barrel in recent weeks. The World Bank has warned that the Iran conflict has driven global growth to a post-COVID low of 2.5 percent.
Layla Hassan
Layla Hassan covers Middle East politics, conflict, and diplomacy from the Gulf to the Levant.
Layla Hassan covers Middle East politics, conflict, and diplomacy from the Gulf to the Levant.
The coming hours will determine whether the two sides can finalize a framework before the weekend deadline — or whether the gap between the leaked terms and the actual agreement proves too wide to bridge before diplomats leave the table.