Trump Claims Iran Deal Is Near, Tehran Denies
President Donald Trump has claimed that a preliminary deal to end the war with Iran is close, after he wrote that attacks on the country had been called off. “We just made a big settlement over the war with Iran,” he told reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state television that reports of a deal were “speculative” and “nothing has been finally agreed upon.” Trump has previously made similar claims that the two countries were nearing an agreement to end the conflict. Just hours before the announcement, Trump had stated the US would hit Iran “very hard.”
The United States and Israel launched major strikes against Iran on 28 February 2026. Iran retaliated by attacking Israel and US-allied Gulf states, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global oil and liquefied natural gas. Although both sides agreed to a ceasefire in April 2026, the US and Iran have continued to exchange sporadic attacks, including two rounds of strikes this week. At the same time, President Trump has repeatedly emphasised the prospect of reaching a deal with Iran. Following his latest remarks, Brent crude prices plunged to around US$89 per barrel, a daily drop of 4.4%.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said: “We have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the primary objective of everything we had to go through to get there. So it’s a very big thing.” He added that the signing of the agreement “will probably take place in Europe” once the document is finalised and should happen “fairly quickly.” According to Trump, the document is already in “almost final form.” He also stated that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened “as soon as the deal is signed.” The president said he had spoken with regional leaders, including his Gulf allies and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding: “The entire Middle East is very happy.”
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the conversation and stressed that Israel “is not a party to the memorandum of understanding.” In a statement, Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump’s commitment to pushing for a final agreement that includes “the removal of enriched material, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, restrictions on missile production, and an end to Iranian support for terrorist proxy groups in the region.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said most of the text of the memorandum of understanding had been “finalised,” but accused the US of making “excessive demands” and adding “new requests.” He insisted Iran would not “deviate from its red lines.”
Hours earlier, Trump had declared the US would “hit Iran very hard tonight” while threatening to seize Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure points “in the near future.” Kharg Island in the northern Gulf is Iran’s main oil export terminal, handling around 90% of the country’s crude exports. Trump also wrote that the US would “take full control” of the oil and gas markets “like we did with Venezuela.” Iran’s military threatened a counter-response “harder than ever before” if further attacks occurred, stating that considering the latest US threats to Iranian oil infrastructure, “exports of oil and gas are for everyone or they will not be available to anyone.” Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, added that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will create an endless quagmire that will trap you for years.”
The two countries exchanged attacks after a US Apache helicopter crashed in the Gulf on Monday. On Wednesday, US Central Command said it had completed a wave of strikes targeting military, surveillance, and radar sites in southern Iran. In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched attacks on American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. An 11-year-old girl in Bahrain was reportedly injured by an Iranian drone strike, and local authorities said homes and cars were also damaged. Jordan claimed to have shot down around 20 Iranian missiles, while the Kuwaiti military said its forces engaged “hostile air targets.”
Meanwhile, India summoned a senior US diplomat after it was confirmed that three Indian sailors were killed in a US strike on a ship in the Gulf of Oman, which was accused of violating a blockade against Iranian ports. Twenty-one other crew members were rescued. To date, US forces have struck nine vessels, including three this week. The blockade aims to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports to limit Tehran’s ability to profit from oil exports. The latest attacks prompted calls for de-escalation. A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday he was “deeply concerned about the continuing escalation in the Middle East” and urged all parties to return to full implementation of the ceasefire and avoid further deterioration.