US, Iran '75% of the Way There' on Peace Deal
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- Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that a "great settlement of the war with Iran" was on the horizon, hours after threatening to strike Iran "VERY HARD" and take over Kharg Island before calling the strikes off.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Friday that an agreement "has never been closer," with Pakistan, the lead mediator, confirming it was working with both parties to finalize a "final, agreed upon text."
- A White House official told NewsNation a deal was 75 percent complete, but Trump has claimed an imminent deal at least three dozen times during the war, per CNN's count.
- JD Vance insisted no cash would trade hands until Iran "meets its obligations," after leaked details suggested Iran might benefit financially—leaks Trump dismissed as "fake."
- A senior U.S. official said Iran's highly enriched uranium would be destroyed under the deal, and Trump claimed Tehran would commit not to procure a nuclear weapon—a pledge echoing the Obama-era deal Trump abandoned in his first term.
- The 14-point proposal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz alongside resolving nuclear and conflict-ending components, drawing sharp reactions: Sen. Lindsey Graham demanded enrichment remain a red line while a House Democrat called the emerging deal "basically a surrender document."
Why it matters: The deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint for global oil flows—and destroy Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, but Trump's pattern of declaring imminent deals dozens of times without fruition undercuts confidence. Lawmakers are already split: Democrats are calling it a "surrender document" while hawkish Republicans like Graham are insisting enrichment stay a red line.
