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• US president demands Iran never develop nuclear weapons, wants Hormuz opened without tolls
• Tehran rejects Trump’s language, demands release of $12bn in frozen assets
• Araghchi accuses US of excessive, shifting demands; Baqaei says no N-talks currently taking place
• Vance says ‘lot of progress’ made in talks even as both sides trade barbs over truce violations
• Washington denies Iran claim of destroying US plane in Bushehr
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump met advisers in the White House Situation Room for about two hours on Friday as he considered a potential agreement with Iran, though Tehran insisted there was still “no final agreement” on ending the Middle East war.
A report from Iran’s Fars news agency also rebutted several key elements of Trump’s characterisation of the deal, citing informed sources as calling his remarks a “mixture of truth and lies”.
US sources had told AFP the deal was just waiting on Trump’s sign-off following weeks of halting negotiations to end a conflict that had engulfed the Middle East and shaken the global economy.
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post before the session, reiterating long-held demands that Iran agree never to have nuclear weapons and must open the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, however, told state media that the Islamic republic “said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago”.
“Regarding the understanding... exchanges of messages are continuing, but no final agreement has been reached yet,” he added.
In his post, Trump said Tehran would remove mines in the Strait of Hormuz and end its blockade of the waterway with “no tolls”, while the US would lift its parallel blockade of Iranian ports, and the two countries would coordinate on removing and destroying Iran’s enriched uranium.
He also said “no money will be exchanged, until further notice”.
Fars, however, cited Iranian sources as saying that Tehran was demanding “the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets”, and that “until this payment is made, Iran will not move to the next phase of negotiations”.
As for the toll-free reopening of Hormuz, they said, “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement”, while the comment on destroying Iran’s nuclear material “is fundamentally baseless”.
Baqaei also told state TV that there were currently “no negotiations” taking place on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Earlier Iran’s parliament speaker, who led its delegation at peace talks with the US in Pakistan last month, said Tehran had gained leverage not “through talks, but through missiles”, and was sceptical of US promises.
“We place no trust in guarantees or words; only actions matter,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.
‘A lot of progress’
Hopes of an agreement had risen on Thursday after US officials were positive about the direction of diplomacy, with Vance telling reporters “a lot of progress” had been made.
The optimism boosted US and Asian stock markets on Friday, while oil prices receded slightly.
Energy markets have whipsawed this week as investors parse the chances of an agreement that could potentially resume normal shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Washington and Tehran have accused each other of violating the truce in and around the strait as recently as this week, with US strikes on the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas countered by retaliatory Iranian fire.
Iranian state TV said on Friday that 24 ships had transited the strait in the past 24 hours, in coordination with the Revolutionary Guards and the foreign ministry.
But it warned that “ships from hostile countries face a severe response” from Iran’s military.
‘US aircraft destroyed’
Earlier, Iran’s state TV said on Friday that a US aircraft was destroyed in Iran’s Jam governorate in Bushehr, citing its governor Masoud Tangestani, with no confirmation from the United States.
However, the US military said no American aircraft were shot down near Bushehr, Iran, despite a claim made on Iranian state TV. “No US aircraft were shot down. All US air assets are accounted for,” the US Central Command said in a post on X.
Iran president thanks Pakistan
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian “thanked Malaysia for its humanitarian stance and Pakistan for its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement” to end the US-Israel war on his country.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said that in his conversations with the prime ministers of Malaysia and Pakistan, he had emphasised “Iran’s commitment to diplomacy”.
“Iran’s policy is to expand cooperation with Muslim and neighbouring countries in all fields,” he added.
Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2026
