United States President Donald Trump on Friday announced the end of the country’s naval blockade of Iran.
He said in a social media post that he would be meeting in the White House Situation Room to make a final decision on a deal with Iran.
He also listed what a potential deal would need to include: Iran agreeing not to develop a nuclear weapon, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the removal of any sea mines, the lifting of the US blockade on Iran and the removal and destruction by the US of Iran’s highly enriched uranium.
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice. Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to. I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
US President Donald Trump has shared a draft peace proposal for the conflict with Iran among allies, including Israel, as efforts continue to prevent further ceasefire violations from spiralling and undermining negotiations, The Guardian reported on Friday.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that a political understanding over the war had been reached but not yet finalised.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing sources, said there was a “mixture of truth and falsehood” in Trump’s comments, which were an “attempt to portray a fabricated victory”.
After the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ships, the strait would be reopened but under Tehran’s arrangements, Fars said. There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the sides’ Memorandum of Understanding, the agency said, though there was agreement to release $12 billion of Iran’s frozen assets.
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf on Friday said in a post on X that Tehran does not trust guarantees and words, and would judge by actions, adding that Iran would not act unless the other side did first.
Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said on Thursday the actions of the Islamic Republic in the Strait of Hormuz are “lawful and consistent with international law.”
Iravani made the remarks on Thursday before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), high-level open debate titled “Upholding the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter and Strengthening the UN-Centered International System.”
He said that Iran “could not allow such a critical waterway to be used as a corridor for hostile actions and military aggression against its sovereignty, territory, and vital interests.”
The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell and stocks rose on Friday over the potential deal.
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: “Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!”
He added that no money would be exchanged “until further notice” – a possible reference to Iran’s demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad.
Kazakhstan has signalled it is willing to take Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the US reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the US nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times.
Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states.
In further diplomatic movement, the foreign minister of mediator Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Iran also wants sanctions lifted, US forces withdrawn from the region, and for any peace deal also to end US ally Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of people with a push deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Iran’s main ally, the Hezbollah group.
Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon’s south and east plus its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has slammed “brutal” Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including southern Beirut.
In comments carried by Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster, Baghaei accused the United States of being an “accomplice” in all of Israel’s “crimes” in Lebanon, as well as in Palestine and the broader Middle East.
Israel says 23 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.