Officials from the U.S. and Iran appear to be nearing a deal to end the ongoing Middle East conflict, according to public statements from President Donald Trump and officials from both nations Saturday.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
A potential deal would come after a fragile, almost two-month ceasefire between the two nations and weeks of negotiations.
“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday afternoon.
Trump wrote that he had a “very good call” to discuss the agreement with leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Two regional diplomats with knowledge of the talks confirmed to NBC News that Vice President JD Vance and Steve Witkoff were also on the call, that the call was positive and that good progress is being made.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, commended “President Trump’s leadership and commitment to dialogue and diplomacy” following the call, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country stands “ready to provide every kind of support during the implementation phase of a potential agreement with Iran.”
Trump added in his post that he had a separate phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “went very well.”
“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump wrote. “In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in India on Sunday that “significant progress, although not final progress” had been made.
He said there had been “some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an outline that could ultimately, if it succeeds,” lead to the strait being reopened.
Rubio said the deal will “require full Iranian acceptance, and then compliance, and it will require some future work on negotiating the details.”
Iranian state media reported Sunday that a deal could see the lifting of oil sanctions and a U.S. blockade of its ports, with a return to “pre-war levels” of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days.
A 60-day negotiation period would be defined for discussions regarding the nuclear issue, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state media that “we are very far from and very close to an agreement.” He added that the positions of the U.S. and Iran in negotiations “have become closer, but not to the point of an agreement rather to the point where a solution may be possible.”
In a phone call Saturday with Axios, the president resumed previous threats against Iran that have made the ongoing ceasefire tense at times. Trump told the news outlet there was a “50/50” chance of making a “good” deal or “blow[ing] them to kingdom come.”
Some Republicans slammed the possibility of a deal.
“The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster. Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote in a post on X.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an X post he was “deeply concerned about what we are hearing,” adding that leaving an emboldened Iranian regime intact would be a “disastrous mistake.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also questioned the deal and warned it could lead to a “major shift of the balance of power in the region.”
“It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate,” Graham added.
Earlier in the week, Trump said he’d called off a planned attack on Iran after regional U.S. allies urged him to hold off because negotiations were moving in a positive direction.
The war began in late February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and has led to surging oil prices and threats of escalation, including Trump’s statement in April that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
The conflict has led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and cost U.S. taxpayers over $25 billion, per estimates from the Pentagon to U.S. lawmakers last month. Thousands of people have been killed across the region, including more than 3,000 in Iran, according to an official from the country.