President Donald Trump on Friday morning said he was meeting in the Situation Room to “make a final decision” after a list of all the things Iran must do to ratify the ceasefire agreement.
It was not immediately clear from Trump’s statement on Truth Social what conditions he would make or leave that were already part of the initial agreement that US and Iranian negotiators are currently working to end the three-month-old war.
Iran “must agree” never to have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately opened” to unrestricted shipping traffic, without tolls, Trump said in the post.
He also said that the retaliatory US naval blockade against Iran in the Gulf of Oman “will now be lifted,” although it was not clear if he meant that such a step would only be taken if preconditions were met.
Trump also said that the enriched material buried at the site of last year’s attacks on nuclear facilities will be “unearthed” by the US “with the cooperation and coordination of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
“No money will be changed, until further notice,” Trump added. “Other things, less important, have been agreed upon.”
“I will meet now, in the Situation Room, to make a final decision,” he said.
Oil prices fell following Trump’s tweet.
Deal with text conflicts
The terms of the deal currently being discussed are unclear. The Iranian newspaper Fars later on Friday pushed back against Trump’s position, saying it “raised issues that contradict the provisions of the text of the agreement.”
Despite Trump’s reference to the toll-free strait, “there is no such clause in the text of the agreement,” Fars reported in a post translated by Telegram, citing “informed sources.”
The draft agreement in the talks does not say anything about Iran dismantling or destroying its nuclear facilities, according to the Fars post.
Fars also asserted that “the most important part of the deal” is the “immediate payment of $12 billion in frozen Iranian goods.” Iran will reject any further negotiations unless that payment is made, according to Fars.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s questions about Trump’s post and Fars opposition.
A White House official on Thursday confirmed an Axios report that the US and Iranian negotiating teams had reached a 60-day deal that would extend the ongoing moratorium and establish nuclear talks.
That memorandum would also lift restrictions on the strain and specify that Iran must remove all mines from the water within 30 days, while the US would lift its embargo accordingly.
Addressing Iran’s highly enriched uranium and enrichment targets will be top priorities during the 60-day window, according to an Axios report. The draft will also include negotiations on the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian funds.
A state of crisis
Trump’s latest sign of progress on the US-Iran peace deal is in contrast to recent economic and military tensions between the countries, as well as continued opposition to the US from Iranian officials and state media.
The Pentagon said on Thursday morning that Iran had launched a ballistic missile towards Kuwait and deployed attack drones near the road. Iranian media reported Thursday local time that the military fired missiles at unknown locations.
The US Treasury Department on Wednesday and Thursday announced new sanctions against Iran, including a number targeting Tehran’s new effort to control the flow of the crisis.
Iranian officials, in X documents published before Trump’s statement on Friday morning, appeared to defy the US, highlighting their ties to their Middle Eastern neighbors including Oman, the latest target of Trump’s threats.
Oman has reportedly been in talks with Iran about charging ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route that has been largely blocked by Iranian threats since the start of the war.
Trump, at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, said “Oman is going to behave like everybody else, or we’re going to have to blow them up.” On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Oman that the US would “crack down hard” on anyone involved in “fixing tolls” in the crisis.
A social media account named after Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a text translated by X on Friday morning, gave a subtle but aggressive reading of the status of the talks.
“We don’t get consensus through talks, but through arrows; in talks, we just make them understand,” wrote Ghalibaf’s account.
“We don’t trust assurances or words – only actions are measures. No action will be taken until the other side takes action,” the post said. “The winner of any agreement is the one who is ready for war from the next day.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted that he spoke with his Omani counterpart and “expressed the solidarity of Iran and Oman in the face of any threat.”
Read Trump’s full post:
Iran must admit that it will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be opened immediately, with no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (mines), if any, will be eliminated (we have removed, by detonation, many such mines with our large underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the removal and/or detonation of any remaining mines, which will not be many!). Ships held in the Strait by our incredible and unprecedented Naval Blockade, now about to be lifted, may begin the process of “going home!” Hello to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President! The advanced material, sometimes called “Nuclear Dust,” buried under the earth and mountains almost collapsed, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on it, will be uncovered by the United States (agreed, the only country, and China, which has the power to do so, and the Islamic Republic and the International Republic of Iran!), in cooperation with the Iranian International! Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED. No money will be exchanged, until further notice. Other things, less important, have been agreed upon. I will meet now, in the Situation Room, to make a final decision. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP
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