US president says Hormuz to open afterwards Iran rejects signing timeline PM says Pakistan preparing for electro
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East would be signed on Sunday,. that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would be "open to all" immediately after.
Iran had offered a different timeline earlier in the day, but nonetheless signalled an agreement was in the offing, as both the warring parties. their mediators expressed increasing optimism that weeks of halting negotiations were drawing to a close.
The new momentum came in spite of fresh skirmishes in the Strait of Hormuz. which Iran has blockaded since early in the war, throwing global markets into turmoil.
"The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,. immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He said former US president Barack Hussein Obama's deal with Iran was an "easy, beautiful, smooth road to a nuclear weapon, which Iran would have had six years ago,. would have used long before now".
Trump claimed his deal was the "exact opposite" and precluded a nuclear weapon.
"In fact. they no longer want a nuclear weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement. The deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,. immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is open to all.
"Our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous administrations have had. Unlike Obama's hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to them. including 1.7 billion dollars in green, cold cash, no money will exchange hands. At the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in. get the nuclear dust, buried deep under the powerful sunken granite mountains, thanks to our beautiful B-2 bombers and their brilliant pilots, and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States."
Trump said he looked forward to working with Iran and the entire Middle East, long into the future.
"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!"
Since an April 8 truce paused the worst of the fighting. Trump has repeatedly insisted a deal was near only for the wrangling to drag on.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei had said earlier on Saturday that the date of the signing was yet to be determined,. "it will not be tomorrow".
However, he added, "The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also said a deal was closer "than ever before".
"With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours. Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week," said the prime minister.
He also thanked the US and Iran for their ongoing commitment during the negotiations. He extended sincere appreciation to their brothers in the region for their support.
"We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace," he added.
US President Donald Trump shared the prime minister's post on his own Truth Social platform.
A Pakistani foreign ministry statement also said the signing was planned for Sunday.
The warring parties have nonetheless released conflicting information about the contents of the deal. as each seeks to show it emerged from the war with the upper hand.
Tehran has insisted it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime trade route for oil. gas shipments from the Gulf.
Since imposing its blockade, Iran has demanded vessels obtain permission from its armed forces before transiting the waterway,. has established a new body to oversee it and collect tolls.
The US has responded with its own blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier on Saturday. the US military's Central Command said Iran had "launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait".
It added that "US forces have downed all of them in recent hours".
Araghchi. in an interview with state television Friday, had said the deal on the table called for the lifting of the US naval blockade.
He added that "the administration of Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before". calling the waterway one of Iran's "main instruments of deterrence".
The US has repeatedly said Iran remaining in control of the strait would be unacceptable,. Trump's post made no mention of tolls or other arrangements.
Another key sticking point in the talks has been the fate of Iran's nuclear programme,. particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uraniumbelieved to have been buried by US strikes last year during a previous short-lived war.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful. that it has a right to enrichment, but the United States, Israel and other Western governments suspect it of seeking a bomb.
Araghchi on Friday said the only way to deal with Iran's enriched uranium "is to dilute it inside Iran".
Trump, who has justified the war as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, previously said the US would remove. destroy the uranium.
In his post on Saturday, he said that "when all is calm, we will go in. get the Nuclear Dust.. and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States".
"Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly," he added. "If it doesn't, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israelwhich launched the war in tandem with the US in Februarysaid Trump had promised him any agreement would include the removal of the enriched nuclear material.
In the streets of Tehran, there was scepticism the latest agreement would cross the finish line.
"I don't think there is any deal soon," said Saeed Sadeghi, 49. "I don't trust their word."
Another man in the city of Tonekabon. who identified himself only as Ali, said deal or no deal, Iranians would suffer.
"Neither outcome is in the people's interest. If they reach an agreement. no longer have to worry about the international community, they'll oppress people a thousand times harder," he said of the Iranian authorities.
(With input from News Desk)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see ourComments FAQ
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.