A senior Trump administration official said Friday that the United States and Iran could sign an agreement in the “coming days” that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and taking steps to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.
But the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the latest developments in negotiations with the Iranian government, said the United States was not “100%” confident that the agreement reached by the two countries, known as a memorandum of understanding, would be signed.
“This morning they probably said 75%. Right now it’s probably somewhere between 80(%) and 85%,” the official said. “But it’s not 100%.”
Iran’s system is “very complex” and there are rifts within the system, the official said.
As it stands, the memorandum also “guarantees long-term peace in the region” by ending Iranian financing of violence and imposes an “inspection regime” on the Islamic Republic, US officials said.
The official said that if Iran complied, it would receive “substantial” economic relief, including the easing of long-term sanctions and the lifting of asset freezes.
However, the official stressed that these benefits “will only be realized if we actually deliver results.” The official also said the two countries have not yet decided where to conclude the agreement.
Still, the U.S. believes both parties like the document in its current form and that “unless issues arise,” the official said, “we will reach a signature within the next few days.”
The official said Israel and other regional allies were expected to “participate” even after Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Friday morning that Tel Aviv has no intention of withdrawing troops from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza or the northern West Bank.
“We don’t expect any country, whether it’s in the Gulf or Israel, to give up their right to self-defense,” the U.S. official said. “Our hope is that if we can get everyone involved in the peace process, everyone else will do the same.”
The comments came as several politicians, including President Donald Trump, expressed more optimism than ever that a deal to end the war was on the horizon.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said early Friday that the “final text” of the deal between the United States and Iran had been “agreed.”
Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between the two countries throughout the war, is “currently working closely with both countries to finalize next steps,” Sharif told XPost.
“Peace has never been nearer than it is now,” he wrote.
President Trump said Thursday afternoon in the Oval Office that the United States “just made a great settlement in our war with Iran,” subject to “finalization of the document.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in X ahead of Sharif’s post that a memorandum of understanding was “closer than ever.”
All three officials have also denied any information shared publicly about the details of any future agreements.
Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported early Friday that the draft agreement contained what it said was 14 articles, including U.S. commitments to lift oil sanctions, lift the naval blockade and release Iran’s frozen funds.
In an angry Truth Social post late Friday morning, President Trump wrote that public reporting on the deal had “nothing to do with the terms agreed to in writing.”
