President Donald Trump on Friday morning said he is meeting in the Situation Room “to make a final determination” after listing everything that Iran must do for him to approve a deal to end the war.
It was not immediately clear from Trump’s statement on Truth Social which of his make-or-break conditions are already part of a preliminary agreement that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are currently working on to pause the three-month-old war.
Iran “must agree” to never have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately open” to unrestricted shipping traffic, with no tolls being imposed, Trump demanded in the post.
He also said that the retaliatory U.S. naval blockade against Iran in the Gulf of Oman “will now be lifted,” though it was unclear if he meant that that step would only be taken if the prior conditions were met.
Trump also stated that enriched material buried at the site of last year’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be “unearthed” by the U.S. “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” Trump added. “Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to.”
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” he said.
Oil prices fell following Trump’s post.
Deal text disputes
The exact terms of the deal currently being discussed are unclear. Iranian state news outlet Fars later Friday pushed back on Trump’s post, saying it “raised issues that contradict the provisions of the agreement’s text.”
Despite Trump’s reference to a toll-free strait, there is “no such clause in the text of the agreement,” Fars reported in a translated Telegram post, citing “informed sources.”
The draft deal in discussion also contains no reference to Iran dismantling or destroying its nuclear materials, according to the Fars post.
Fars also asserted that “the most important part of the agreement” is “the immediate payment of $12 billion of Iran’s frozen assets.” Iran will refuse any further negotiations unless that payment is made, per Fars.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s questions about Trump’s post and the Fars rebuttal.
A White House official on Thursday confirmed an Axios report that the U.S. and Iranian negotiating teams have reached a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would extend the ongoing ceasefire and set up nuclear talks.
That memorandum would also lift restrictions in the strait and specify that Iran must remove all mines from the waterway within 30 days, while the U.S. would lift its blockade accordingly.
Addressing Iran’s highly enriched uranium and enrichment goals will be top priorities during the 60-day window, according to the Axios report. The draft would also tee up negotiations on sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds.
State of strait
Trump’s latest signal of progress toward a U.S.-Iran peace deal contrasts with recent economic and military clashes between the countries, as well as continued anti-U.S. posturing from Iranian officials and state media.
The Pentagon said Thursday morning that Iran had launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait and deployed attack drones in and around the strait. Iranian media reported late Thursday local time that the country’s armed forces fired missiles at unidentified targets.
The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday and Thursday announced new sanctions against Iran, including a batch targeting Tehran’s new effort to exert control over transit through the strait.
Iranian officials, in X posts published prior to Trump’s statement Friday morning, appeared defiant toward the U.S., touting their ties with their Middle East neighbors including Oman, a recent target of Trump’s threats.
Oman has reportedly been in talks with Iran about charging vessels transiting the Hormuz Strait, the vital global oil-shipping route that has been largely blocked by Iranian threats since the war began.
Trump, at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, said that “Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ’em up.” On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Oman that the U.S. will “aggressively target” anyone involved in “facilitating tolls” for the strait.
A social media account attributed to Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a translated X post Friday morning, offered a cryptic but aggressive readout of the status of the talks.
“We seize concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles; in negotiations, we merely make them understand,” Ghalibaf’s account wrote.
“We have no trust in guarantees or words—only actions are the measure. No action will be taken before the other side acts,” the post said. “The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war from the day after.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted that he spoke with his Omani counterpart and “expressed Iran’s solidarity with Oman in face of any threat.”
Read Trump’s full post:
Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!). Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of “heading home!” Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President! The enriched material, sometimes referred to as “Nuclear Dust,” which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
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