Trump says Iran peace deal is close, but major gaps remain

Iran is now facing Donald Trump’s sixth public run at a ceasefire deal, and the latest version is also being sold as close, but not finished.

Trump said on Truth Social that a deal involving the United States, Iran, and several regional governments had been “largely negotiated.” Trump said the final parts were still being discussed and that an announcement would come soon. The big item he named was the Strait of Hormuz, which he said would be opened as part of the deal.

Trump said he made the post from the Oval Office after a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatari Minister Ali al-Thawadi, Pakistani Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

“Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well. Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” said Trump.

Trump says regional leaders are trying to close the final Iran deal terms

The war started on February 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran without backing from Congress and without clear evidence of whatever their motive really even is.

Tehran then fired back at Israel and US-linked Gulf states, dragging the Middle East into a wider crisis and giving markets another headache they did not need. A ceasefire with Iran came in early April, and talks between Washington and Tehran have continued since then over a longer peace deal.

This is a war that Trump started unprovoked. A war that has plunged the global economy, and spiked gas costs for Americans, while crashing his approval ratings and losing him some of his staunchest supporters.

Iran says talks are closer but still stuck on major points

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei gave a more careful read than Trump when he told state television on Saturday night that US and Iranian positions had become closer over the past week.

But he also said that did not mean the hard issues had been solved, even though Washington has been making “contradictory statements,” which is diplomatic language for, “Pick a lane.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Dr. Kazem Gharibabadi also attacked Western governments after the Eleventh Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ended at the United Nations in New York with no final document.

Kazem said Iran’s peaceful nuclear sites, which he said were under safeguards, had been attacked twice over the past year by the United States and Israel. He argued that those attacks should have been the main issue at the conference. Instead, he said Western governments tried to blame Iran over safeguards duties and UN Security Council resolutions.

Kazem said some governments tried to turn the UN process into a political tool and “swap the roles of aggressor and victim.” He also said Iran blocked those countries from getting the language they wanted into the final document.

His position was if the nuclear system is going to survive, he said it has to be based on equal security, equal sovereignty, and equal accountability, not special treatment for nuclear powers.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his call with Trump was “very useful and productive.” Shehbaz also said Pakistan hopes to host the next round of talks soon.

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