Trump says peace deal with Iran ‘largely negotiated’ with strait of Hormuz to open

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated”, after calls with a Pakistani mediator, Gulf allies and Israel, potentially paving the way for an end to the war launched by the US and Israel in February.Trump wrote on his social media platform that “final aspects and details” of a “Memorandum of Understanding” are still being discussed, and “will be announced shortly” but said the Strait of Hormuz will be opened as part of the deal.“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries,” Trump posted.The announcement came after a Pakistani source told Reuters that Iran and Pakistan had submitted a revised proposal to the United States to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.A regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts told the Associated Press earlier on Saturday that the potential deal would include an official declaration of the war’s end, with two-month negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, the opening of the crucial shipping lane by Iran and an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports.There had been hints before the announcement that indirect talks between the US and Iran had progressed in the past few days. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said during a visit to India that “news” might arrive “later today”, even as Trump continued to threaten striking Iran.In his post, Trump said that he had had phone discussions with many Middle Eastern leaders, including those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as Pakistan’s army chief, field marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “Separately, I had a call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, which, likewise, went very well,” Trump said.Details of the exact negotiations remain sparse. Trump on Saturday said he’d met with American negotiators, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, along with JD Vance, to discuss the latest round of proposals.The lead-up to the announcement remained tense, with Trump continuing to threaten strikes. Trump had told CBS and Axios he would only sign a deal “where we get everything we want”, adding that if a deal was not reached, the US would begin striking Iran again.Drop Site News reported late Friday night that the latest proposal submitted to mediators by Iran included the provisional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran also requested the US end its blockade of Iranian ports, the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and a plan to compensate Iran for damages suffered during the war. According to Drop Site’s source, the Iranian proposal included permanently ending the war before negotiating any deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. It is unclear how many of these points were included in the memorandum Trump referred to in his post.Iran’s top negotiator said earlier in the day there would be no compromise over its national rights during a meeting with the Pakistani army chief in Tehran.“Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” he said on state television.