President Trump teased signing a peace deal to end the war in Iran on Monday, following a weekend of mixed signals regarding negotiation progress.
He and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both sounded optimistic Monday regarding the possibility of a peace deal with Iran, but Tehran warned that unresolved issues remain.
Over the weekend, the president said a peace deal with Iran is “largely negotiated,” while Mr. Rubio said an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be announced as soon as Monday.
“We thought we might have some news last night. Maybe today,” Mr. Rubio told reporters Monday in Delhi, India, adding, “I wouldn’t read too much into it. It takes a little while to hear back from Iran.”
However, over the weekend, Mr. Trump instructed negotiators “not to rush into” a peace agreement.
While Iran nodded toward agreeing with certain aspects of a deal, the nation argued that “frequent changes” and contradictions by the U.S. side present “problems and obstacles.”
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Iran’s parliament speaker and its foreign minister, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Abbas Araghchi, respectively, met with Qatari leadership Monday, “aimed at resolving outstanding issues” in the way of a U.S.-Iran peace deal, Qatari government-owned Al Jazeera network reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly complained of his limited ability to influence Mr. Trump’s negotiations, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Mr. Netanyahu allegedly wants the freedom to continue operations against perceived threats, including Lebanon, which could derail a peace deal if Iran opposes.
He has also reportedly expressed concerns about the memorandum of understanding currently being negotiated.
The terms in the draft memorandum of understanding reportedly include a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire; Iran immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz; Iran, the U.S. and their allies ending military operations; Iran agreeing that it will never develop nuclear weapons and that its stockpile of enriched uranium will be disposed of.
Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social Monday morning, “Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding nicely! It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!”
He said that during his Saturday discussions with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, he told them that they must sign the Abraham Accords — a “minimum” requirement after “all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together.”
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He said that the Abraham Accords — a series of landmark normalization agreements brokered by the U.S. to establish formal diplomatic, economic and security ties between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kazakhstan — has been a “Financial, Economic, and Social BOOM, even during this time of Conflict and War.”
“It should start with the immediate signing by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and everybody else should follow suit. If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention,” Mr. Trump said, adding that the countries’ leaders said that they would be “honored” to have the Islamic Republic of Iran join the Abraham Accords.
“Therefore, I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition,” he said.
Mr. Trump asked his representatives to begin and complete the process of signing the countries into the Abraham Accords.
The war, launched by the U.S.-Israel on Feb. 28, aimed to prevent Iran from holding onto a nuclear weapon.
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