U.S. President Donald Trump said the final terms and details of an agreement with Iran to end the conflict are currently being discussed and will be announced soon, and claimed that the Strait of Hormuz "will be opened." Iranian media pushed back, asserting that "the Strait of Hormuz will remain under Iranian control." The talks appear to be gaining momentum but are also showing signs of last-minute friction.
Writing on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said, "The agreement between the U.S., Iran and various other countries has largely been negotiated, with only final confirmation remaining." Trump did not specify a clear timing for the announcement.
In phone interviews with Axios and CBS the same day, Trump said the negotiations with Iran were "getting quite close," and described the chances of resuming airstrikes as "definitely 50-50." He added that he would decide whether to resume strikes on Iran "by Sunday (the 24th)." Trump also said he had just held "very good calls" with the leaders and senior officials of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan and Bahrain. He said they had "discussed all matters related to Iran and the 'Peace Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).'" Trump added, "Separately, I also spoke with Bibi (a nickname for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), and that also went very well."
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting India, told reporters the same day, "There's a chance we'll announce something either later today, tomorrow, or in a few days." Unlike Trump, whose remarks have shifted, Rubio has tended to speak based on facts, leading to observations that progress is being made on the ceasefire negotiations.
A different message, however, emerged from Iran. According to Reuters, Iran's Fars News Agency reported that under documents recently exchanged between the U.S. and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will remain under Iranian control. The agency rebutted Trump's announcement that the strait would be opened, calling it "incomplete and not in line with reality." Fars News is a semi-official outlet linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and is classified as hardline.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also stressed in a message released on the presidential office's website that Iran is pursuing its legitimate national interests and that, given the U.S.'s past precedents in negotiations, a particularly vigilant posture is needed.
