President Donald Trump declared Friday that Iran has agreed to virtually all of his demands to end its nuclear program forever and said that talks to finalize the deal, “probably” held this weekend, “should go very quickly.”
In a flurry of social media posts and media interviews, Trump said the United States “will work with Iran” at what he called “a leisurely pace” — with no need for American ground troops — to retrieve all of its buried highly enriched uranium and turn it over to the U.S. He said Iran would receive no money for agreeing to an “unlimited” halt to all nuclear activities.
With U.S. help, Trump said, Iran was removing all sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz — which Tehran, earlier in the day, said it would reopen to commercial shipping. He said Iran has agreed “never to close” the waterway again.
Deploying its own social media flourishes, Iran dismissed Trump’s assertions. “The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false,” chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf wrote on X late Friday. “They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”
“Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks,” Ghalibaf said, adding: “With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.”
A Foreign Ministry statement, posted by state broadcaster IRIB, said: “The Americans talk excessively and create noise around the situation. Do not be misled! There is no new agreement.”
In his own post, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait’s opening would be limited, lasting until a two-week ceasefire expires early next week unless a broader agreement is reached, and that travel was permitted only along the Iranian-approved “coordinated route.” He emphasized that the decision had come after Israel and Lebanon agreed, under U.S. pressure, to a separate, temporary ceasefire in that separate war, a key demand of Iran’s.
Trump’s announcement that the strait was open brought an immediate drop in oil prices, and global markets responded favorably, with the cost of a barrel of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, falling more than 10 percent to under $89 in futures trading.
Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas moved through the Hormuz choke point. Iran’s clampdown in response to the U.S. and Israeli assault saw gas prices rise in much of the world and touched off energy shortages in parts of Asia.
It was unclear Friday how many ships would be able, or feel confident enough, to take advantage of the Iranian-declared reopening. There was no discernible increase in traffic through the strait immediately following the late-in-the-day announcement, according to maritime tracking organizations.
“The strait normally handles more than 100 vessel crossings per day. A single designated corridor with Iranian authorization requirements cannot replicate that volume,” said Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, which specializes in financial crime and regulatory issues.
“Reopening the strait on paper and vessels actually transiting it are two very different things. Captains and shipping companies make decisions based on crew safety, not diplomatic announcements.” Erickson said.
At the same time, the U.S. will continue its naval blockade of Iranian ports. In comments to reporters in Phoenix, where he was speaking at a Turning Point USA event, Trump said, “Soon as the agreement gets signed, that’s when the blockade ends.” The Navy has turned back 19 ships since it took effect Monday, defense officials said.
Asked later about the Iranian statements rejecting his assertions on agreements, Trump said, “They have people they have to cater to, also. I’m just doing the thing that’s right.”
The Trump administration also reauthorized its pause on sanctions of tens of millions of barrels of Russian oil Friday, when the sanctions were supposed to resume. The pause had been framed by the administration as a short-lived measure that would relieve pressure on oil markets but would not generate significant income for Russia. However, analysts say that it has created a windfall for the Kremlin and that Friday’s move will substantially add to it.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a White House briefing that the temporary sanctions waiver, first announced on March 11 for all Russian oil already on board tankers at sea, would not be extended. “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil,” Bessent said. “That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11, so all that has been used.”
A notice announcing the renewal was posted on Treasury’s website late Friday, authorizing the sale of all Russian oil at sea as of April 17.
In interviews with Reuters and Bloomberg, Trump said that he hadn’t decided who would head a U.S. delegation to what he said were upcoming peace talks, likely to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. At an initial round of talks held there last, Vice President JD Vance headed a team that included White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
Asked if he might attend a signing ceremony in Pakistan, should a deal be reached, Trump said he might but hadn’t decided yet.
He again rejected a proposal Vance made during the first round for a 20-year moratorium on all uranium enrichment by Iran. “No years, unlimited,” Trump told Bloomberg.
Trump also pushed back on reports that the U.S. would release $20 million in frozen Iranian funds in exchange for giving up its stockpile of enriched uranium, telling Reuters, “It’s totally false. No money is changing hands.” Iran has demanded the lifting of all economic sanctions and restitution for war damages.
On removal of what the International Atomic Energy Agency has said is about 940 pounds of highly enriched uranium, close to weapons-grade, buried under the rubble of last year’s U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign, Trump said, “We’re going to get it together. We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery. … We’ll bring it back to the United States.”
He told a CBS News reporter that the endeavor would not require the use of U.S. ground personnel.
In negotiations, Iran has said it would dilute or otherwise remove the material, and it has offered a moratorium on further high-level enrichment for three to five years.
Neither side on Friday mentioned additional U.S. demands, previously rejected by Iran, that it curtail its ballistic missile program and stop support for regional proxy militias.
Trump also used social media on Friday to reiterate his frustrations that European powers didn’t join the war effort last month, despite his lack of consultation with them ahead of time.
“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL,” Trump wrote. “They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!
In a news conference after the opening of the strait was announced, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the opening of the strait while calling for a permanent plan to restore freedom of navigation.
“We welcome the announcement that was made during our meeting, but we need to make sure that that is both lasting and a workable proposal,” Starmer said.
Trump’s announcements of diplomatic progress on the strait caught European allies off guard, said a diplomat familiar with the matter, in the latest sign of disunity among the Western powers. “We were holding a meeting on the strait and had no idea this would be announced in the middle of the meeting. It was embarrassing,” said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Amid his social media posts claiming major breakthroughs, Trump declared that it was “A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!” He continued his criticism of news coverage of the war, saying some U.S. outlets “are desperately looking for a reason to criticize [him] on the Iran Situation.”
“Why don’t they just say, at the right time, JOB WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT?” he asked.
George reported from Islamabad, Pakistan. Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report.
The post Iran disputes claims of new agreements with Trump appeared first on Washington Post.
