U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely and that it would not receive any frozen Iranian funds from the United States, while also asserting that a broader deal to end the war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran in late February was nearly complete.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Trump said “Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program permanently” and said no Iranian assets frozen by Washington would be released. “The deal is mostly complete,” he said.
In a separate interview with Reuters, Trump said the United States and Iran would work together to recover highly enriched uranium that he said had been buried underground during last June’s war.
“We’re going to get it together,” Trump said, according to Reuters. “We're going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery... We'll bring it back to the United States.”
Trump also told Reuters that another round of talks could take place as soon as Saturday or Sunday.
But Iranian officials signaled that major gaps remain.
After Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that commercial shipping would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the remainder of the ceasefire period, an Iranian official told Reuters that keeping the strategic waterway open was conditional on compliance with the ceasefire between Iran and the United States.
The official said significant differences remained between Tehran and Washington, including over nuclear issues, and that serious talks were still needed. Still, the official said a preliminary agreement could be reached in the coming days, with the possibility of extending the ceasefire. Such an agreement, the official said, could create room for talks on sanctions relief and compensation for war damage.
Earlier Friday, in what appeared to be a possible Iranian gesture toward Washington ahead of continued negotiations, Araghchi announced that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz would be “fully open” for the rest of the ceasefire period, along a route previously published by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization.
Trump later amplified Araghchi’s post on social media, initially writing that “the Strait of Iran” had opened completely for transit, before correcting himself and saying the Strait of Hormuz was “fully open and ready for business and full passage.” He added that the naval blockade would remain fully in effect as far as Iran was concerned, and only Iran, until the deal with Tehran was completed “100%.”
“This process should move along very quickly considering that most points have already been agreed to,” Trump wrote.
Araghchi’s announcement sent oil prices sharply lower. U.S. crude fell 10% to around $85 a barrel and Brent crude dropped nearly 9% to about $90 a barrel.
The ceasefire between Iran and the United States is due to expire on Wednesday, April 22, though reports earlier this week said it was expected to be extended. Iran later denied those reports.
Iranian officials also stressed after Araghchi’s announcement, according to reports on Iranian state television, that opening the Strait of Hormuz to traffic did not apply to military vessels. At the same time, a U.S. military official told Reuters that more than 10,000 American troops remained in the region to enforce Trump’s decision to impose a blockade only on Iranian vessels in the strait.
Trump continued posting repeatedly on Truth Social, addressing the ceasefires in Iran and Lebanon 10 times over roughly 90 minutes, according to the report. He repeated his claim that Iran would hand over to the United States the near-weapons-grade enriched uranium in its possession.
“The U.S.A. will get all nuclear 'dust,' created by our great B2 Bombers - No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” Trump wrote.
In another post, Trump said the Iran deal was not tied to Lebanon “in any way,” but added that the U.S. would work separately with Lebanon and address the situation with Hezbollah “properly.”
“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the USA. Enough is enough!!!” Trump wrote, a day after he said he had forced Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that opening the Strait of Hormuz had been done subject to American agreement to unfreeze Iranian assets, though the official did not provide a timetable. Another Iranian military official told Iranian television that military vessels still were barred from passing through the strait, saying transit was limited to nonmilitary vessels using routes designated by the Revolutionary Guard navy.
Trump also used the flurry of posts to attack NATO as European leaders were discussing ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Now that the Strait of Hormuz situation is over, I got a call from NATO asking if we needed any help,” Trump wrote. “I told them to stay away, unless they just want to load their ships up with oil. They were useless when needed, a paper tiger!”
In subsequent posts, Trump said Iran, with U.S. assistance, had removed or was in the process of removing all naval mines. He also thanked Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for what he called their courage and major help.
He later repeated that the Iran deal had no connection to Lebanon, writing: “Again! This deal has nothing to do, in any way, with Lebanon, but we are going to make Lebanon great again!”
Trump also thanked Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, whom the report described as the country’s most powerful figure and a mediator between Washington and Tehran.
“Again thank you to Pakistan and its prime minister and great field marshal, two fantastic people!!!” Trump wrote.
In yet another post, Trump said: “Iran has agreed never to close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the world.”
Despite Trump’s sweeping claims, the statements from Iranian officials suggested negotiations remain incomplete and that key disputes over the nuclear file, sanctions relief and the ceasefire’s terms have yet to be resolved.