Trump says US and Iran could sign deal this weekend as strikes test truce

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington and Tehran could sign a peace agreement as early as this weekend in Europe, presenting it as a step that would reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and mark a major diplomatic development in the three-month conflict.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said the United States had reached what he called a major settlement with Iran and added that Vice President JD Vance could sign on behalf of Washington. He also said he understood that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the arrangement. However, Iran has not formally confirmed this. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Tehran was likely to approve the agreement, while Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, that reports about an agreement were speculative and nothing had been finalised.

Trump’s announcement followed his decision to cancel planned military action against Iran, which came after he had earlier threatened more strikes. He said on Truth Social that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran had been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, and that he had therefore called off the strikes scheduled for the evening. He also said the discussions and final points had been approved by the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and others, while adding that a naval blockade would remain in place until the arrangement was finalised.

Strikes and retaliation

The latest diplomatic claims came amid renewed military exchanges that further strained a ceasefire announced in April. After the United States attacked targets across Iran, the Iranian army responded by striking US targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired ballistic missiles at a US command centre in Jordan and attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. In a statement carried by IRNA, the Guards said that during two waves of operations, eighteen important targets belonging to the US Army in the bases of Ali and Ahmad Ahmad Air Force were hit, and that Sheikh Isa air bases were also hit and destroyed.

The US military said it had targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defence sites across Iran. Central Command said on X that US Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy assets fired precision munitions at Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and to international commercial ships using regional waters.

Fars reported that explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, while residents also reported blasts in Kargan and Minab. Before cancelling the planned strikes, Trump had warned that the United States would hit Iran very hard that night and repeated his claim that Iran’s military and broader defence capacity had been rendered inoperable. He also said Washington would at some point take Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure points and assume total control of their oil and gas markets.

Warnings, diplomacy and oil markets

Iranian officials responded with warnings. Parliament speaker Bagher Ghalibaf said wrong strategies and impulsive decisions would reset the entire board for the worse, damage energy infrastructure and markets, and create a prolonged quagmire. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also said that if Iranian oil and gas exports were threatened, then such exports would not be available for anyone, and warned that the war could widen and deepen insecurity in the region. Iran’s foreign ministry separately condemned the latest US strikes, saying they had made the nearly two-month ceasefire practically meaningless.

As tensions rose, Saudi Arabia called for a return to negotiations under Pakistani and Qatari mediation. In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry urged de-escalation and restraint and called on all sides to return to diplomatic efforts and resume the constructive negotiations sponsored by Pakistan along with Qatar’s efforts.

Pakistan also called for a negotiated settlement. Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during his weekly briefing that Pakistan’s leadership would continue mediation efforts despite the latest escalation.

"Pakistan remains deeply concerned about the situation in the region, which has been marked by recent escalation. We are of the view that diplomacy and dialogue should be the guiding principles for achieving a negotiated settlement of all contentious issues"

The renewed fighting also drew calls for de-escalation from the UN chief, China, Russia, Turkiye and the European Union.

Oil prices fell after Trump cancelled the planned strikes. Brent crude was down $2.50, or 2.7 per cent, at $90.60 a barrel by 1838 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.32, or 2.6pc, to settle at $87.71 a barrel.

Hormuz closure

Earlier in the day, AFP reported that Iran’s newly formed body overseeing the Strait of Hormuz confirmed a complete closure order for the waterway until further notice after the Revolutionary Guards had announced the move overnight. In a post on X, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said the closure was due to tensions caused by what it described as aggression by American forces in the region and the announcement made by the Iranian armed forces.

Separately, Al Jazeera reported that Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal called for attacks on ships to stop after three Indians were killed in a US strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf. He also told reporters that another vessel, M/T Jalveer, was attacked by the US Navy.