US President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been “largely negotiated” and details will be announced soon.
The deal would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said on Saturday, without giving further details.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman earlier told state television that US and Iranian positions had been converging in the last week, but warned that did not mean agreements would be reached on key issues and accused the Americans of “contradictory statements”.
Washington and Tehran have engaged in talks over a long-term peace deal since a ceasefire was agreed early in April.
Trump wrote on social media that he had a “very good call” with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and others about a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE”.
“An agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalisation between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” he said.
“Final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.”
Trump also said he had a call on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which “went very well”.
The US president has not given any further details on the deal, but has insisted any agreement would “absolutely” prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Trump “on his extraordinary efforts to pursue peace” and said the phone call had been “very useful and productive”.
Pakistan has been helping to negotiate a peace deal, serving as an intermediary.
“We hope to host the next round of talks very soon,” he wrote in the statement on X.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also described a “memorandum of understanding”, telling state television on Saturday that Iran’s intention was to reach an agreement “in the form of a framework, consisting of 14 points”.
Baghaei said Tehran was in the process of finalising the memorandum, so further talks could be held within 30 to 60 days “and ultimately a final agreement can be reached”.
The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, sparking conflict across the Middle East. Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf.
The ceasefire was struck after Iran leveraged its control over the Strait of Hormuz to effectively close the vital waterway, through which around 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas flows.
The new sense of momentum comes after the mood appeared to have soured in Washington, with anonymous officials briefing US media on Friday that the administration was preparing for a fresh round of military strikes, though no final decision had been made.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday that he would not attend his son Donald Jr’s wedding this weekend so he could remain in Washington “during this important period of time”.
Last week, the US president had said the truce was on “massive life support” after rejecting Tehran’s demands, labelling them “totally unacceptable”.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April in response to Tehran’s policing of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday that it had redirected 100 vessels, disabled four and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass since the blockade began.
Centcom commander Adm Brad Cooper said its forces had been “highly effective” in “allowing zero trade into and out of Iranian ports, which has squeezed Iran economically”.
Meanwhile, Iran has claimed military control of an area around the Strait of Hormuz, and has said all transit through the strait “requires co-ordination with and authorisation from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority”.
The US and Gulf allies have repeatedly rejected Iranian attempts to assert control over the strait, and the US has told ships not to comply with Iran’s rules.
