Uncertainty Over US-Iran Peace Talks Continues After Trump Ends Situation Room Meeting Without Final Decision

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump's highly anticipated meeting in the Situation Room to make a“final determination” on a tentative Iran deal concluded roughly two hours later on Friday (local time).

Citing sources, CNN reported that despite Trump's earlier suggestion that the meeting would end with a final decision, it remained unclear afterward whether he planned to sign off on the proposed agreement with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and start nuclear talks.

Participants in the session included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, the report added.

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Ahead of the meeting, Trump said he was looking to make a“final determination.” A senior administration official later said the roughly two-hour meeting with national security aides had concluded.

Shortly before the meeting, the US President, in a Truth Social post, laid out conditions for the Islamic Republic while reiterating that a final call on the deal would be made that day. He wrote, "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!)

He added, "I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination."

The high-level talks were confirmed after media outlets reported that US and Iranian negotiators had come to terms on a tentative agreement. The deal would extend the fragile ceasefire by 60 days as new talks are held on Iran's disputed nuclear program.

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Iran's main negotiator said Friday that it has“no trust in guarantees or words,” only actions, underscoring lingering distrust after the US and Israel had twice attacked Iran over the past year while it was engaged in nuclear negotiations.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, in a post on X, wrote, "We seize concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles; in negotiations, we merely make them understand. We have no trust in guarantees or words-only actions are the measure. No action will be taken before the other side acts. The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war from the day after."

The Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said today that Washington and Tehran are still in contact, but a memorandum of understanding (MoU ) between the two nations has not yet been finalized. Speaking to Iranian state TV, Baghaei said, "As I speak to you, message exchanges are of course ongoing, but no final understanding has been reached."

Nuclear issues unsolved

Earlier on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance suggested that negotiators were trying to strike general terms on Tehran's nuclear program, with the specifics to be hammered out in the upcoming talks.

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Baghaei, however, said Friday that Iranian officials were "focused on the end of war and are not discussing the details of the nuclear plan at this point.”

Iran also wants any deal to include a truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, where fighting has intensified despite a nominal ceasefire. And the Islamic Republic has been seeking the release of billions of dollars in frozen funds, AP reported.

US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

The proposed MOU clearly states that Tehran would not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and that it would also remove all mines from the arterial waterway within 30 days, according to a US official.

Washington would gradually lift its blockade on Iranian ports and would also agree to relax sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.

Baghaei said Iran and Oman, which lie on opposite sides of the strait, would manage it and“adopt mechanisms” for transit through it, "based on their own national interests and the interests of the international community.”

Iran has effectively closed the strait since the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on 28 February that killed Iran's supreme leader and other top officials. Before then, the waterway was open to international traffic, and around a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed through it. The closure of the strait has caused the price of fuel and other goods to soar, with the effects felt far beyond the Middle East.

(with agency inputs)

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