Peace deal will be finalised Sunday, Trump says but Tehran casts doubt
US president Donald Trump has said a deal to end the conflict between the US and Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday, but Iran has cast doubt on the timing.
On Saturday, key mediator Pakistan said the deal was “likely expected” to be finalised within 24 hours, while Trump declared that his administration was looking “forward to working with Iran and the entire Middle East long into the future”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and 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.”
The nuclear programme
He also threatened significant repercussions if the final negotiations failed.
He said: “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,” he said.
While the details of the agreement have not been released, Trump has indicated that the US would enter Iran and seize the regime’s “Nuclear Dust”, adding it would later be destroyed.
But Iran’s foreign ministry said that the agreement was focused on ending the war, and “at this stage, it has been decided that there will be no discussion of the nuclear issue”.
Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium have long been at the centre of tensions with the US and Israel and an international source of concern.
Iran casts doubt
Despite Trump’s confidence in a deal, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the agreement had “not yet been finalised”.
This came after earlier comments from the Iranian foreign ministry that the signing would happen in the “coming days”.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei expressed caution over the timeline, saying: “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 [Sunday].”
Iran has expressed wariness of the course of negotiations between the two sides, noting that prior talks have ended with the resumption of attacks.
US officials also said the economic benefits for Iran under the deal would depend on Tehran meeting its obligations.
Technical-level talks are expected to begin between the US and Iran once the memorandum is signed.