Trump Says No Rush for Iran Deal, US Blockade Stays

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD—President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran.

The U.S. blockade on Iranian ships on the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed", Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Negotiations were progressing and the U.S. relationship with Iran had become more professional and productive, he said. But he added: "Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!"

A day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which before the Feb. 28 conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

It was not clear whether the agreement Trump was referring to on Sunday was the initial memorandum of understanding that has been under discussion, or a much more challenging broad peace settlement, likely to take much longer.

The two sides remain at odds over numerous difficult issues, such as Iran's nuclear ambitions and Tehran's demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.

But Iran's Tasnim news agency said differences remained over one or two clauses. Tasnim cited a source as saying there would be no final understanding if the U.S. continued to create obstacles.

In another potential stumbling block, a military adviser to Khamenei said Tehran had the legal right to manage the Strait of Hormuz, though it was not clear if that meant continuing to decide which ships can go through.

Any deal cementing the current fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but not immediately quell a global energy crisis, which has driven up costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.

Even if the war ends now, full ​flows through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of ‌2027, the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said last week.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said 33 vessels had passed through the strait over the past 24 hours after getting permission from Tehran, still far short of the 140 on a typical day before the war.

Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran "must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb", he reiterated in his post on Sunday.

He spoke on Saturday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, who encouraged Trump to agree to the emerging framework, Axios reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that "the trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators".

Baghaei said the issue of the U.S. blockade on Iran's shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new U.S. attacks and the parallel conflict in Lebanon.

The U.S.–Israeli war of Iran, which began on Feb. 28, killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April.

Israel has also killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.

Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens of people.