President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that he told his negotiators not to “rush into a deal” with Iran, comments that come after a series of reports said that a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran could be reached soon.
“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” the president wrote.
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes! Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one,” Trump added.
According to media reports, the potential deal that’s on the table would essentially bring the region into a status that was supposed to be achieved under the initial US-Iran ceasefire by ending the US blockade of Iranian ports and opening the Strait of Hormuz to more commercial traffic.
Amjaj Media reported on Saturday that the deal would also release billions in frozen Iranian funds, withdraw American forces from the immediate vicinity of Iran, start a 30-day period for negotiating nuclear issues that could be extended, and bring a real ceasefire in Lebanon, though it’s unlikely Israel will agree to end its occupation of southern Lebanon and attacks in the country.
While both US and Iranian sources spoke positively of the negotiations on Saturday and notable Iran hawks in the US expressed panic, the chances of a deal seemed less likely on Sunday. Ali Hashem, a reporter for Al Jazeera, cited an Iranian source who told him that the US was now backing away from two key tenets of the potential deal: the unfreezing of Iranian assets and a real truce in Lebanon.
“According to the source, the memorandum includes a Lebanon ceasefire framework, but Israel is reportedly uncomfortable with the arrangement and is pushing Washington to include language allowing it to carry out military operations in Lebanon under the justification of responding to ‘any threat.’ Iran is rejecting that formulation and insisting on a sustainable and lasting ceasefire,” Hashem wrote on X.
Hashem added that the “overall picture suggests Tehran increasingly views Washington as backing away from earlier understandings reached through mediators.”
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also cast doubt on a deal, as he said that he and Trump spoke on Saturday night and agreed on certain conditions for an agreement that Tehran would likely reject.
“President Trump and I agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger. That means dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and removing its enriched nuclear material from its territory,” Netanyahu wrote on X. He added that Trump also “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.”
US sources also told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that a deal was not expected to be signed on Sunday, as some reports initially suggested, and said that an agreement could still be signed within days, though they expressed that the negotiations could still fall apart. “We are in a very good place — but there are ways in which the deal can be undermined,” a senior Trump official told Ravid.
The threat of a resumption of the full-scale US-Israeli bombing campaign remains, though Trump isn’t expected to do so until after the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which will end on May 29. According to a report from Middle East Eye, the US’s Gulf allies warned Trump not to resume the attacks during the pilgrimage.
