President Trump went on a media tear on Friday, granting interviews and unleashing a flurry of social media posts that framed peace talks with Iran as all but complete.
After an announcement by Iran’s foreign minister that the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened, Mr. Trump made a series of optimistic posts on his social media platform, Truth Social. He also spoke to several news outlets, asserting that Tehran had agreed to many demands and predicting a quick resolution to the conflict.
Iranian officials did not confirm most of Mr. Trump’s claims and disputed several of them. Taken together, however, the president’s remarks could shape the narrative around the peace talks in a conflict that has jolted the world economy and damaged his popularity at home.
Mr. Trump has made exaggerated and outlandish claims related to the war since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. He has threatened to wipe out Iranian civilization, attacked the pope for criticizing the violence and offered seemingly contradictory visions of how the war might unfold.
Mr. Trump said on Friday that Iran, with the help of the United States, was removing all of the mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz last month. He also claimed that the “Hormuz Strait situation is over” and “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again.”
Iran has made no such commitment, and its foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, had only gone so far as to announce that the vital oil route would be open “for the remaining period of cease-fire” for ships that adhered to a route “coordinated” by Iran. Later, the ministry’s spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said the strait remained under Iran’s supervision.
Mr. Trump also claimed in a phone interview with CBS that Iran had “agreed to everything,” including working with the United States to remove its enriched uranium. But in comments made to Iranian state media later that day, Mr. Baghaei said that Tehran had rejected the option of transferring its enriched uranium stockpile abroad.
On Friday, Mr. Trump told AFP that there were “no sticking points” left for a peace deal with Iran. The White House has not confirmed any details of a plan. In a brief phone interview with Axios, Mr. Trump said he expected a deal “in the next day or two.” On Friday, he painted himself as a peacemaker maligned by traditional news media.
“They are desperately looking for a reason to criticize President Donald J. Trump on the Iran situation, but just can’t find it,” he said on social media. “Why don’t they just say, at the right time, JOB WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT.”
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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