President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that the terms of a deal to end the war circulating in Iranian state media have “nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to in writing.”
Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the draft agreement includes a U.S. commitment to lift oil sanctions, and that final negotiations will not begin until half of Iran’s frozen funds are released and the U.S. naval blockade ends. The deal also includes a pledge by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days, Mehr reported.
In an angry Truth Social post Friday morning, President Trump said that “what they said has nothing to do with the truth, including their weak and pathetic statements about the deal,” and accused the Iranians of being “a very disgraceful people to do business with.”
“There is no way we will respond to them in good faith,” Trump wrote.
He also condemned what he said was Iran’s “total denial of last night’s drone attack” on Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz.
Early Friday morning, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Jason Meeks, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in New Delhi, over “continued attacks by the US Navy on commercial vessels carrying Indian sailors in the Gulf of Oman.”
According to the Ministry of India, three Indians lost their lives in these US attacks.
President Trump appeared to blame Iran for recent incidents involving Indian ships, writing that the alleged drone attack was “totally unacceptable.”
“They better get their act together, and fast!” the president wrote about Iran.
President Trump said a day earlier that the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as early as this weekend. President Trump has claimed more than 30 times during the war, which is now in its fourth month, that a peace deal is nearing completion.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that a deal could be signed in Switzerland as early as Sunday, citing people familiar with the plan. President Trump and other world leaders are scheduled to gather next week for the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, on the eastern border of France and Switzerland.
The 14-point draft agreement, Maher reported, also includes provisions requiring the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iran and requiring the United States and its allies to present a plan to rebuild Iran worth at least $300 billion.
Expectations for a peace agreement
President Trump claimed in the Oval Office on Thursday that the United States had “just made a great settlement in our war with Iran,” subject to “finalization of the document.”
The announcement came after President Trump called off a planned strike against Iran on Thursday night, insisting that discussions with the Islamic Republic “have been brought to the highest levels of Iranian leadership and approved.”
The president also said in the Oval Office that he would reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as a deal is signed.
Israel has not yet commented on the latest draft memorandum, which was shared by Iranian state media on Friday.
President Trump said Thursday that he had discussed a possible memorandum of understanding or agreement with Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other regional leaders.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the conversation late Thursday. The newspaper said in a statement that while Israel is not participating in negotiations with Iran, the prime minister appreciated Trump’s “commitment that a final agreement at the end of negotiations will include various limits on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and other actions.”
Approximately 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas pass through the strait, which was an important oil transport route and a major chokepoint during the war.
Global stocks rose on Friday on hopes of a peace deal. European stocks soared, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index up 1.8% and most major exchanges up about 2% in morning trading.
Oil prices fell, with U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery down 1.61%. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures for August contract fell 1.75%.
