Monday, May 25, 2026 - President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
“The 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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an
agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” he wrote.
The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports
since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically
vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began
February 28.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump
wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that
former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.
“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more
professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they
cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.
While the White House has not released aspects of the deal,
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state
television that the two sides were nearing “a memorandum of understanding, a
kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses” in “a trend toward
rapprochement.”
According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would
extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz
would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held
on Iran’s nuclear program.
It cited a senior US official as saying there are still
details “to work out,” and the “slow and opaque” nature of Iran’s
decision-making system could delay an agreement by another few days.
“Our understanding is that the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba
Khamenei, has endorsed the broad template of the deal,” the official said.
“Whether this becomes an agreement is still an open question.”
In Washington, Republican lawmakers close to Trump were
among those expressing fears of an agreement favorable to Iran.
The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger
Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean
“everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”
Texas senator Ted Cruz wrote on X: “If the result of all
that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to
America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium
& develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of
Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake.”
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said
on CNN’s “State of the Union” program, “we’re talking about a posture where we
may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at
all?”

0 Comments