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Sunday signing in doubt
President Donald Trump said a U.S.-Iran deal to end fighting is scheduled to be signed on Sunday, and he wrote on Truth Social that "The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL."
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei cast doubt on the timing, saying "it will not be tomorrow" and adding that "The possibility of it being signed in the coming days cannot be ruled out."
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X that finalisation was "likely expected in the next 24 hours" and that Pakistan was preparing for an electronic signing followed by technical-level talks next week.
In parallel, U.S. and Iranian officials described the memorandum of understanding as nearing completion, with NBC News saying it could be sealed within days and with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling Iranian state media that a memorandum "could happen within the next one or two days, or within the next few days."
What the deal would do
The BBC reported that Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be "open to all" once the deal is agreed, while Trump also warned that if things would not "work out quickly, easily and smoothly," Washington had "the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!"
NBC News said the memorandum of understanding would reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately without tolls and restore prewar shipping within approximately 30 days, while also lifting the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described different terms on the strait, saying Iran intends to charge a service fee for ships passing through the strait and that it would maintain control while charging for "services provided."
In the nuclear track, NBC News said details regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions would be finalized in the next stage of negotiations, and it also quoted Trump’s framing of the conflict objective as "A WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON!"
Enforcement and regional fallout
MS NOW said the emerging agreement Trump is touting does not appear to achieve several of the key goals he stated at the outset of the military conflict, including whether it permanently prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
MS NOW also reported that recent U.S. intelligence assessments found that 70% of Iran’s missile stockpile remains intact, and it said the senior administration official did not describe to reporters that any specific limits on Iran’s missile stockpile had been agreed.
CNN reported that questions about Trump’s claim of "deal" with Iran emerged as Iran’s Foreign Minister claimed "victory" in the war, underscoring that the agreement’s substance remained contested.
Beyond the U.S.-Iran track, NBC News said the deal includes an end to fighting in Lebanon, where Israel has continued a deadly offensive against Hezbollah despite existing ceasefire agreements, while MS NOW said the senior administration official only said the agreement would end fighting across the region and that Iran would apparently no longer fund its proxies.
