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Trump says there is no rush for Iran deal, US blockade stays
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, as his administration played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war that had been raised a day earlier.
The U.S. blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz would “remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Both sides must take their time and get it right,” he added, Reuters reported.
There was no immediate response from Iran’s government. But Tasnim news agency, which is linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said the U.S. was still obstructing parts of a potential deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds.
A day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
The two sides remain at odds on several difficult issues, such as Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia and Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.
WORKING OUT DEAL’S DETAILS
A senior Trump administration official told reporters an agreement would not be signed on Sunday, saying that the Iranian system did not move fast enough. But he outlined what he said were the latest contours of what was being negotiated.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Iran had agreed “in principle” to open the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, and to dispose of Tehran’s highly enriched uranium.
He said the U.S. understood Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had endorsed the broad template of the deal.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iran or elaboration on what an “in principle” agreement meant.
The U.S. official said Washington envisioned first re-opening the strait and lifting the U.S. naval blockade. Negotiating the details of the nuclear measures would take more time, he said.
He pushed back on suggestions that Iran has not accepted disposing of its stockpiled enriched uranium. “It’s a question about how,” the official said.
A second senior administration official said on Sunday that the proposed framework would give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal.
Iranian sources had told Reuters that in future stages, “feasible formulas” could be found to resolve the dispute over its highly enriched uranium stockpile, including diluting the material under the supervision of the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Iran has long denied U.S. and Israeli accusations that it is pursuing nuclear weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, although the purity it has achieved far exceeds that needed for power generation.
DEAL DRAWS OUT U.S. CRITICS
Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war’s impact on U.S. energy prices and who has faced congressional efforts to curb his war powers, has repeatedly played up the prospect of an agreement to end the conflict that the U.S. and Israel started on February 28. A tenuous ceasefire has been in place since early April.
Oil prices hit two-week lows to kickstart the week with Brent crude futures down over 4% to $98.83 a barrel — the first time it has dipped below $100 in intraday trading since early May — while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $92.03 a barrel, also down over 4%.
As details of the possible agreement emerged over the weekend, critics including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Democratic lawmakers argued that it offered little beyond the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama, from which Trump withdrew during his first term.
Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the deal’s reported outlines would amount to little more than “the pre-war status quo” with Iran.
“I think this was a blunder,” Van Hollen said on the “Fox News Sunday” program. “When you’re digging a hole, you should stop digging, and that sounds like maybe what we’re doing finally.”
Trump, who has also faced criticism from hawkish conservatives over his willingness to compromise with Iran, pushed back.
“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one … So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
In another potential stumbling block, an Iranian military adviser to Khamenei said Tehran had the legal right to manage the Strait of Hormuz, though it was not clear if that meant continuing to decide which ships can go through.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said 33 vessels had passed through the strait over the past 24 hours after getting permission from Tehran, still far short of the 140 on a typical day before the war.
Any deal reinforcing the current fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but not immediately quell a global energy crisis, which has driven up costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.
Even if the war ends now, full flows through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said last week.
The U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in early April.
Israel has also killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of Hezbollah. Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens.
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Iran says new sanctions threatened by ‘desperate’ US will fail
While Iran remains defiant, President Masoud Pezeshkian has also called for a diplomatic solution.
Iran’s foreign minister dismissed the threat of new US sanctions as a sign of desperation on Sunday and said the expected new measures would fail to defeat Tehran, Reuters reported.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is due to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday, has threatened to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Iran’s economy is already under huge pressure from international sanctions, its infrastructure has been hit repeatedly and thousands of people have been killed in airstrikes on the Islamic Republic since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on February 28.
But Tehran remains defiant after nearly six months of war and has brought shipping to a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, refusing to allow unauthorized oil tankers to transit a waterway that is vital for global oil shipments. The effective blockade of the strait has pushed up global oil prices.
Describing what he said were “repetitive scenarios”, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a video posted on Telegram: “The fact that they (US leaders) have moved on from military operations … to bring up the same old plans shows that they are desperate.”
He said Washington must speak to Iran respectfully to find “a solution based on justice and honour.”
“We have never been afraid. All of their actions – whether blockades or other military moves they have made – have failed, and this new issue of theirs will fail as well,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran” and Bessent has urged cooperation with Washington by China, which buys more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. China has urged diplomacy.
Iran said Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, would visit Tehran on Monday as part of efforts to restore peace and security in the region, but gave few details.
Pakistan has been mediating in the conflict and a Pakistani government source said Munir would touch on recent developments including the U.S. threat of new sanctions.
Trump said on Friday that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict, read the report.
“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said of Iran.
US attacks have severely diminished Iran’s economy and devastated its navy and air force, but Tehran maintains enough missile and drone capability to impede oil tanker traffic and attack regional rivals.
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Saturday that Tehran had received “numerous messages” from neighbouring countries about establishing new regional security arrangements and economic cooperation.
Qalibaf did not say which countries he was referring to. He accused the US of endangering the security of its allies in the region for the sake of Israel, adding that an independent, “homegrown” regional order would deliver peace and security.
Trump has yet to achieve objectives he set at the start of the war such as dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme — the state of which remains uncertain given that U.N. inspectors have been shut out since 2025 — and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers.
While Iran remains defiant, President Masoud Pezeshkian has also called for a diplomatic solution.
“It would be better to end the war today, when we are powerful and have dignity, and the whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasizes that America, contrary to all regulations, attacked our schools, hospitals, and infrastructure and is hated in the world,” the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying on Friday.
Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday to continue efforts to bring peace and security to the region, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry.
Pakistan has taken on a mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the U.S. aimed at ending the war which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
Two Pakistani government sources confirmed Munir’s visit to Reuters. The first source said that Iran and Pakistan were in direct contact.
A second source said the talks would also address recent developments in the conflict, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tougher sanctions on Iran.
“He (Munir) will discuss peace under Islamabad’s MoU, Trump’s warning and the situation after the Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi Arab Agreement and Houthi issues with Iranian leaders,” the source said.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions as Iran threatens a military response to U.S. plans for sanctions that could further put a strain on the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy.
It will coincide with a Monday announcement on details related to the planned sanctions which U.S. officials have said would be “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Trump had warned of economic consequences against any country that provided “any type of lifeline to Iran” as he seeks to isolate the Islamic Republic.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorized oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
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Iran grants permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz
Iraq produced around 4 million barrels of oil per day before the outbreak of the Iran war.
Iran has granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
IRNA said obtaining special permission for Iraqi tankers was one of Baghdad’s main requests during Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s visit to Iraq.
Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said on Saturday that Iran had facilitated the passage of vessels carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait in recent days and Baghdad had discussed the export of Iraqi oil through Hormuz with Iranian officials.
The issue remained complicated, he added, speaking at the Baghdad Dialogue policy conference.
Iraq has been among the countries most affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the strait remains significantly below pre-war levels and ships continue to face attacks in the area.
Iraq produced around 4 million barrels of oil per day before the outbreak of the Iran war.
Baghdad is working to expand its exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port and also to begin exporting oil through Syria’s Baniyas port and Jordan’s Aqaba port, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday.
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