Trump Says U.S.-Iran Memorandum Will Be Signed Sunday as U.S. Shoots Down Iranian Drones

President Donald Trump said a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran will be signed on Sunday and that the Strait of Hormuz will immediately be reopened, while Iran’s foreign ministry later said the deal would likely not be signed Sunday.

“Toggle Play Trump seeks ‘off-ramp’ from war in ‘Iran deal’ Read more As reports emerge of a possible US-Iran agreement, Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna says that President Donald Trump is looking for an ‘off-ramp’ from a war that has driven up economic costs and faces growing domestic opposition”

Al Jazeera

In the Strait of Hormuz early Saturday, the U.S. shot down several Iranian attack drones that were apparently targeting commercial ships, and Trump responded that it was "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE."

Al Jazeera

Dozens protested Saturday outside a foreign ministry office in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad, chanting slogans against Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi after a televised interview about potentially signing a peace deal with the U.S.

In a video shared by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, women in black chadors chanted "death to dishonorable Araghchi, the infiltrator" in front of the building, while waving red and black flags.

The CBS News report also said the protest came as the peace deal touted by Trump and mediator Pakistan faced opposition from hardline Iranian figures who argued it would deprive Tehran of leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

CNN reported that officials are planning for a virtual signing because meeting in person presented logistical challenges, and it said the memorandum of understanding would kick off a new 60-day period of negotiations.

CNN also said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied plans for a Sunday signing, criticizing Trump’s "unusual insistence" on that day and saying a framework "has not yet been finalized."

BBC

On Saturday, Trump said an agreement with Iran "is scheduled to get signed tomorrow," and CNN added that the signing would trigger the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The BBC reported that Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed caution over the timeline, saying: "We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow."

The Hill quoted Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton (Mass.) criticizing the reported details, telling MS NOW on Saturday: "It’s basically a surrender document from Donald Trump to the supreme leader of Iran."

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.

“What to know about the Iran war today: - President Trump said the memorandum of understanding between the U”

CBS News

MS NOW quoted Danny Citrinowicz, a retired Israeli military intelligence officer, saying: "A war meant to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons will be the war that pushed them over the Rubicon," and it also said the draft memorandum did not describe any specific limits on Iran’s missile stockpile.

The Hill reported that a senior U.S. official said the deal includes provisions to prohibit Iran’s nuclear building capabilities and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and it said Pakistan said the agreement would be signed electronically.

The Hill also captured Moulton’s argument about the conflict’s toll, asking: "I mean, $100 billion of taxpayer money already put into this war, 14 Americans dead, and we get a deal that just reopens the strait that was already open before he started the war?"

Meanwhile, CBS News said Araghchi told Iran’s state TV that the deal on the table called for the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, imposed in response to Iran’s own blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and he added that the waterway was one of Iran’s "main instruments of deterrence".