US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would soon make a final decision on a possible deal to extend the ceasefire with Iran. After a two-hour meeting in the White House Situation Room, no decision had been reached.
In a post on Truth Social ahead of the meeting, Trump said Iran must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, and that the Strait of Hormuz must reopen immediately, toll-free and in both directions, to allow unrestricted shipping.
However, Iran disputed key parts of Trump’s post. Its Fars news agency, citing sources, reported that no clause on the toll-free reopening of Hormuz appeared in the text of the agreement, and called Trump’s claim about destroying Iran’s nuclear material “fundamentally baseless.”
Fars also said Tehran was demanding the release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets before negotiations could continue, and that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen only on Tehran’s terms, after the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ships. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, told state TV there were currently no negotiations taking place on its nuclear programme.
The war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and pushed energy prices higher as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. The proposed deal would extend an early-April ceasefire by 60 days to allow time for fuller negotiations. On Friday, oil prices fell and stocks rose on news of the potential agreement.