- US President Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran after a draft ceasefire deal emerged
- Iran's Fars news agency denied approving any deal text but may reconsider signing off
- Trump claimed Iran's Supreme Leader approved the proposal and multiple nations agreed
US President Donald Trump has said he has cancelled planned strikes against Iran, claiming the leadership in Tehran "approved" a draft agreement to extend the ceasefire, reopen the vital shipping route Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. However, Iran's Fars news agency reported that Tehran has not yet approved a text for any deal with the United States but said there was a "possibility" Tehran would consider signing off.
The peace deal under negotiation is intended to open the strait and lift the US blockade, but any agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and the lifting of US sanctions is likely to require further negotiation. Follow Live Updates
What Trump Said
Talking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said his understanding was that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had given his approval to the proposal.
"We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran...The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend in Europe," he said.
"We took them out at night, and the Strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be sent very soon, maybe over the weekend in Europe," he added.
Later, taking to his Truth Social platform, he wrote, "Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening."
He further claimed that the final points of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran have been, "in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved", including the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt.
The US leader said US forces will continue blocking Hormuz, the vital shipping route, "until this transaction is finalised" and Tehran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon.
What Iran Said
Fars, Iran's semi-official news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, quoted an "informed source close to Iran's negotiation team" as saying, "No text for a preliminary memorandum of understanding with the United States has been approved."
Iran's Tasnim news agency dismissed Trump's announcement, saying the US president had made similar declarations in the past without any outcome. "Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded as his previous messages," it said.
However, the state media later reported that Washington had accepted Tehran's "proposed text", and as a result, Iran could "reconsider and review the agreement once again".
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also said any deal has not been finalised yet. "Most of the text had already been finalised, but the Americans kept changing their positions," he said.
"Iran has demonstrated that it does not compromise on what it has defined as its red lines," he added. "Iran has not yet reached a final decision regarding an agreement."
Behind The Scenes
Tehran and Washington have been swapping proposals to end the war, which broke out on February 28 and engulfed the Middle East. In recent days, the two sides have increasingly engaged in exchanges of fire despite a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since April 8.
According to an Axios report, the negotiations continued late into Wednesday night in Tehran as Qatari envoy Ali Al-Thawadi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi worked to iron out the remaining creases between the US and Iran. Three sources briefed on the talks told the American publication that the Qataris and the Iranians believed that they had reached an agreed-upon text that the US would also accept.
The sources said the gaps were narrowed on three key issues, including the mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets, arrangements for reopening the Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period, and how negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme would be conducted during the 60-day ceasefire period.
Iranian officials reportedly told negotiators that the Tehran talks produced an agreement in principle, but Khamenei has yet to give his final approval.
