Trump Says Iran Deal To Be Signed June 14 Despite Doubts Cast By Tehran

US President Donald Trump said that a deal between Washington and Tehran is scheduled to be signed on June 14 and that the key Strait of Hormuz would reopen "to all" immediately afterward, despite conflicting signals from Tehran.

"The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL," Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 13, describing a potential agreement as a "A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON" for Iran.

The president also suggested the deal would allow US forces to take possession of Iran's enriched nuclear material and destroy it, "whether in Iran or the United States."

Trump gave no further details on the agreement, expected to be a 60-day memorandum of understanding that lays out a framework for talks on reaching a full peace settlement to end the war that started when the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran on February 28.

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While Iranian authorities have yet to comment on Trump's statement, Iranian news agencies earlier cast doubt on the deal being signed on June 14, with a Foreign Ministry spokesperson quoted as saying that the signing "will not be tomorrow."

However, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country has been serving as a mediator in talks, set a 24-hour clock ticking on June 13 and suggested a deal was closer “than ever before.”

Sharif's remarks followed a slew of statements, posts, and comments the previous day by top officials on both sides of the conflict, including Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, indicating diplomatic progress.

Officials in Washington also briefed RFE/RL that a deal was coming together. But there have been false dawns before in the twisting course of the conflict.

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Previous optimism has dissipated amid a series of recent breaches of the cease-fire that began on April 8 and a return to belligerent rhetoric from key players.

More kinetic activity was reported on June 13.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a shipping security monitor, reported that a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman overnight.

"The crew are reported safe," it said. "Vessels are advised to transit with caution."

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) pounded targets in Lebanon where they are fighting Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy regarded by both Israel and the United States as a terrorist organization. The IDF also reported incoming fire and sirens wailed in northern Israel.

Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly said a deal with Washington must include a truce in Lebanon.

Countdown To A Deal

US and Iranian negotiators have not met since they held direct talks in Islamabad on April 11-12.

Those talks ended without an agreement but in the two months since then the two sides have been exchanging messages aimed at drawing up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) via Pakistani mediators.

Given Pakistan'a central role, Sharif’s comments have attracted a lot of attention.

"A final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached," he wrote on social media on June 12. "Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps."

One of the "next steps" that Sharif mentioned appears to be where and how the MoU is signed.

"Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week," Sharif wrote on June 13, in another post that said "finalization" was expected within 24 hours.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei subsequently suggested the process may take longer.

"The exact time of signing the memorandum will not be tomorrow," he said less than two hours after Sharif's comments, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. "Because of the other side's hesitancy, we must be cautious in making any statements about this process."

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Each side has offered different views on where and how a deal will be sealed, with Iran also speaking of a digital signing while a White House official told RFE/RL on June 12 that mediators were still considering an in-person signing ceremony in Europe in the coming days.

These are trivial differences compared to the huge divergence of demands each side appears to have on the substantive issues.

It's been reported that a way around this has been found in which the initial MoU deals with Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports and waters.

This would leave tougher issues, like Iran's nuclear program, its stocks of highly enriched uranium, and the fate of US sanctions on Iran, for later rounds of negotiations.

But this has not been officially confirmed.