Trump Demands Tougher Iran Deal Language, Presses Nuclear and Strait of Hormuz Changes

President Donald Trump sent back changes to the proposed Iran memorandum of understanding after a meeting with advisers Friday, extending back-and-forth negotiations into another week as officials said he insisted on tougher language on Iran’s nuclear commitments and its pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“United States President Donald Trump has told Fox News he is in “no hurry” for a deal with Iran as the Israeli army claimed to have captured a strategic castle in southern Lebanon in the deepest incursion into the country in 26 years”

Al Jazeera

CNN reported that the two-hour session ended without a conclusive decision, even after Trump claimed the US would seize and destroy Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran said it was not discussing details of its nuclear program under the current negotiations.

Al Jazeera

Iran’s lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the regime in Tehran would not sign up to any agreement that fails to secure the rights of Iranians, and he said the country was waiting for "tangible results" from negotiations.

US media outlets reported that Trump demanded more amendments after a meeting in the White House on Friday, with The New York Times saying the process could mean further delays because it is difficult to get information and instructions to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamanei, who is described as being in hiding after a strike killed his father and reportedly caused him serious injuries.

Axios reported that Trump asked his team to make changes to clauses around Iran’s nuclear program, including "more specifics about how the U.S. gets the material and the timing," and it said Trump also wanted to amend wording around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to the pressure, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, "We cannot rely on the words and promises of the enemy. Our only criterion is to achieve concrete results before fulfilling our commitments in return," according to state media cited by i24NEWS.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Trump told Fox News he was in "no hurry" for a deal and said, "The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons," while the same reporting said the US was getting what it wants "slowly but surely."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the United States was prepared to resume strikes on Iran if diplomacy failed, saying, "Our ability to recommence if necessary — we are more than capable," and he added that the US stockpiles were "more than suited for that".

While negotiations continued, the US blockade remained in place, and CNN said the US military on Friday disabled a Gambian-flagged vessel by firing a missile into its engine room, with CENTCOM saying it had issued "more than 20 warnings" before the disabling.

“Skip to main content 20 hours ago - World Trump requests edits to Iran deal his envoys negotiated Marc Caputo, Barak Ravid email (opens in new window) sms (opens in new window) facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) bluesky (opens in new window) Add Axios as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google”

Axios

NewsNation said the blockade and pressure tactics continued without a deal, including that U.S. Central Command announced it had disabled a ship attempting to breach the blockade of Iranian ports, and it said the fifth vessel was disabled.

The dispute also intersected with Lebanon, where Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, and the Al Jazeera briefing said the comments came as Israel expanded its invasion of Lebanon on day 93 of the war on Iran.

In the same Al Jazeera account, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari warned that "any aggression against the country’s territory will be met with a response even more forceful than before," as it also said the IRGC shot down a US drone attempting a hostile operation in Iran’s territorial waters.