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US President Donald Trump held a meeting with his top aides on Friday to make a “final decision” on a framework for extending the ceasefire with Iran, but the conclusion was unclear on next steps.
He said Iran must agree to never possess a nuclear weapon or bomb, that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened to “unrestricted, two-way maritime traffic” and that all mines in the waterway be “destroyed.”
The meeting was held in the White House Situation Room, used to deal with major crises. Iran has said earlier that it is not negotiating its nuclear program, which it says is entirely for civilian purposes.
As of Thursday, the two countries had agreed to a framework agreement — known as a memorandum of understanding — pending approval from Trump and Iranian leaders, according to U.S. officials.
The agreement would extend the ceasefire by 60 days and launch negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
“President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and respects his red lines. Iran can never have nuclear weapons,” a White House official told CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner.
Since the ceasefire took effect on April 8, Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States and Iran are close to an agreement and that negotiations are progressing, but so far no substantial results have been achieved.
In a social media post Friday, Trump said he was ready to lift the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, allowing ships caught in the waterway to “begin the process of ‘coming home!’ » »
He also insisted that Iran allow the United States to remove and destroy its enriched uranium.
“No exchange of money will be made until further notice,” he said. “Other points, much less important, were accepted.”
Later, a White House official confirmed to the BBC that the meeting in the Situation Room had ended. The official provided no further details.
Iran’s Fars news agency cited informed sources as saying that Trump’s latest comments were a “mixture of truth and lies.”
There was no provision for the destruction of nuclear materials in the memorandum of understanding, the agency reported.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television that he was “focused on ending the war and there were no negotiations on the nuclear issue.”
The United States has long demanded that Iran stop producing highly enriched uranium and get rid of its existing stockpiles, which could in theory be used to create nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies it wants to develop nuclear weapons.
The possibility that the United States could “restart” strikes in Iran was raised by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Speaking at a security summit in Singapore, he said “our stockpiles are more than adequate for this, both there and around the world, because of the way we balance exquisite and more abundant munitions,” and added: “so we are in a very good position.”
The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. Iran responded by attacking Israel and U.S. allied states in the Gulf and effectively closed the strait, causing global oil prices to skyrocket. Normally, around 20% of the world’s energy supply passes through the strait.
On Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance said negotiators were “exchanging on a few linguistic points”, including the “question of enrichment”.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re very close to it and we’re going to continue to work on it,” he said.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Friday he had “no confidence in guarantees or words” but only in actions.
“No action will be taken until the other side acts,” he said on social media. “The winner of any agreement is the one who is best prepared to face war the next day.”
Iran and the United States have accused each other of violating the ceasefire in recent days.
On Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said he targeted an American air base in Kuwait it was “the source” of previous strikes on Bandar Abbas, a strategic Iranian port city near the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said the attack on Kuwait was a “blatant violation of the ceasefire.”
