Trump says Iran deal is set for signing

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States is set to sign an initial agreement with Iran within a day, a claim that clashed with public caution from Tehran even as both sides signaled that a deal to halt the war may be close.

“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He said the agreement would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, calling it “A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON!” and adding that “no money would exchange hands.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei gave a different timeline. In remarks carried by Iran’s IRNA news agency, he said a memorandum of understanding would not be signed Sunday and that negotiators were not immediately planning to travel to Geneva for such an event. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”

The competing statements followed days of intense diplomacy after the United States and Iran traded strikes this week, threatening a pause in fighting that had largely held since April. The war began Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran amid indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, according to Al Jazeera. The Guardian reported that recent days have brought the most intense clashes between Iran and Israel and the U.S. since a ceasefire came into effect in April.

Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said Saturday that Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours, followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before … We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace,” Sharif wrote on social media.

No official text has been released. U.S. and Iranian officials stressed Friday that the agreement had not been finalized, and the two governments have described sharply different terms.

Trump said Iran “no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement.” He also wrote that “at the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust,” referring to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. He said the U.S. relationship with Iran was “much different and better” than under previous administrations and added: “Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly. If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday on Press TV that an initial memorandum would only open negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. He said a signing would produce an immediate pause in fighting, but that Iran and Oman would continue to administer the Strait of Hormuz. He also said sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian assets would be discussed after the memorandum is signed.

The Guardian reported that, according to Mehr news agency and Iranian officials, the agreement would end conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, secure the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, suspend sanctions on oil and petrochemical sales, allow Iran to levy service charges on passage through the Strait of Hormuz and lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. Trump said Friday that Mehr’s reported text bore “no relation to the truth.”

U.S. officials have described a much different deal, saying it would require Iran’s nuclear material to be destroyed, its nuclear program dismantled, frozen money withheld until Tehran meets certain demands and an end to Iranian support for allied militant movements in the region. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, said Friday the deal met Trump’s core objectives and put negotiations “in a very, very good place.”

The possible agreement has alarmed Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with Trump over U.S. demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to give Washington room to reach a deal with Tehran. Israeli forces carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday and issued evacuation warnings for Nabatieh and more than 20 other locations ahead of raids.