Iran Deal to Be Signed Sunday? Trump Says Yes, Iran Says No

Pakistan, acting as a mediator, announced Saturday that a peace agreement between the United States and Iran will be finalized within 24 hours. U.S. President Donald Trump also stated the deal will be signed on Sunday. However, Iran immediately pushed back. A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry told the Tasnim news agency that the "exact" signing time "will not be tomorrow." The spokesman warned of "the instability of the counterparty," referring to the U.S., and said the memorandum focuses "on ending the war." Trump, in a post on Truth Social, described his agreement with Iran as "a wall that prevents access to nuclear weapons!" He claimed Iran no longer wants a nuclear weapon and will not obtain one "by purchase, development, or any other form of acquisition." "The agreement is expected to be signed tomorrow, and immediately after its signing, the Strait of Hormuz will be open for all," Trump said. He added that the U.S. would later "recover the nuclear material, buried deep under huge granite mountains," using B-2 bombers. Trump also said: "We hope to work with Iran and the entire Middle East for a long time to come. If not, we have the ultimate alternative, which we hope never to use!" Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif insisted Saturday that the U.S. and Iran are "closer to a peace agreement than ever before." He thanked both countries for their commitment and expressed confidence that a "historic peace agreement" would create a foundation for lasting peace. The U.S. digital news outlet Axios reported Saturday that American and Iranian representatives will hold a virtual meeting on Sunday with Pakistani and Qatari mediators. The goal is to electronically sign an agreement to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz. On Friday, Pakistan confirmed that the parties had reached a "final and agreed text of the peace agreement." This could be the most significant diplomatic progress between the two countries since Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu began their campaign against Iran. Despite these claims, the exact terms of the agreement remain unclear. Neither the U.S. nor Iran has confirmed a final text, and a definitive signing is still uncertain.