US President Donald Trump appeared to temper expectations of an early peace deal with Iran a day after he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sparked renewed hopes for a quick end to the nearly 3-month-old war.
“If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while blasting predecessor Barack Obama for the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement that he pulled the US out of during his first term.
"Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet. So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about,” he added.
In a separate May 24 post, Trump wrote that "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."
A day earlier, Trump wrote that “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.”
"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” he asserted.
In the past, Trump has suggested that a deal was imminent, only to later reject Iranian counterproposals and threaten new attacks.
Rubio, meanwhile, earlier had said "good news" on the negotiations could come sometime on May 24, telling reporters during a trip to India there has been "significant progress” in the talks.
However, in a later interview with The New York Times, Rubio appeared to tamp down hopes for an early deal, cautioning that a nuclear agreement would take time to achieve.
"We're not kicking it till later. Nuclear talks are highly technical matters. You can't do a nuclear thing in 72 hours on the back of a napkin," Rubio told the Times.
'Could Take Several Days'
US news outlet Axios cited a senior US official as saying the White House no longer expected an imediate agreement and "thinks it could take several days" for Tehran to approve the deal.
Following the US statements, Iranian officials pushed back on claims that reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz was part of an agreement to end the war, as Trump had contended.
Tehran has all but closed shipping traffic through the strait, sending global prices for energy and agricultural goods skyrocketing and rattling the global economy.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to India, Rubio hinted at possible “good news at least in regard to the strait."
He said Iran does not own the waterway.
"If we allow that to become normal, we would be normalizing an unacceptable status quo and setting a dangerous precedent that could be replicated here in this region and in multiple places around the world,” Rubio said.
Unconfirmed media reports in the US and Iran said a memorandum of understanding that the sides were inching toward includes lifting a US blockade on Iranian shipping and reopening the strait.
Fate Of Iran's Enriched Uranium In Question
The fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium -- one of several justifications Trump has cited in going to war -- would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days, according to the reports. The White House has called for Tehran to give the enriched uranium, which can be used to build a weapon.
The New York Times, citing unnamed US officials, said Iran had agreed to give up its enriched uranium as part of the proposal.
A cease-fire declared in early April has mostly held, though Iran has launched small-scale attacks on some Gulf states, while a separate conflict -- Israeli attacks on Hezbollah sites in Lebanon -- has continued to flare despite a separate cease-fire announced in mid-April.
Pakistan, which has played a key role as a go-between for Washington Tehran, sent its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to Tehran to further the peace efforts. Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian and powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Qalibaf held talks in Tehran with Munir on May 23.
Following his meeting with Munir, Qalibaf, who has emerged as one of Tehran’s top negotiators, said that Iran would not compromise on its “national rights.” He also accused Washington of negotiating in bad faith.
Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency on May 24 said its reporting indicated that key clauses of a potential agreement were "unresolved at this time," including the matter of frozen Iranian assets.
