Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, declared on Friday that a comprehensive agreement with the United States to end the Middle East conflict has never been closer, even as President Donald Trump furiously accused Tehran of negotiating in bad faith. The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on 28 February, has devastated the region and sent energy prices soaring across Europe.
The dispute erupted after Iranian state media published a detailed breakdown of what it claimed were the draft terms under discussion. According to the reports, Tehran insists on retaining its right to enrich uranium and on controlling shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas supplies. These demands directly contradict the account offered by a senior White House official, who said Iran had agreed to dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy its enriched uranium stockpile, and reopen the strait—with no return of frozen funds until those commitments are fulfilled.
On Thursday, Trump had suggested a deal was imminent, even cancelling a threatened wave of bombings. But by Friday, he took to his social media platform to denounce the Iranian version as false. “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing,” he wrote. “Very dishonourable people to deal with. They better get their act together, and FAST!”
Araghchi attempted to de-escalate the row, posting on social media that “the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer,” referring to the Pakistani capital that hosted previous talks. He urged the media to refrain from speculation about its content. Trump later shared a screenshot of Araghchi’s message on his own feed.
Pakistan Confirms Final Text
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif added to the confusion by stating that a final, agreed-upon text of a peace deal had been reached. “We can confirm that a final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalise the next steps,” Sharif posted on X, tagging both the US and Iranian presidents. Pakistan has mediated between the two sides for months. “Peace has never been as close as it is now,” he said.
A ceasefire took effect in April, but sporadic episodes of violence have occurred, each time sparking new fears of a return to all-out war, despite Trump repeatedly stating a deal was within reach. The conflict has had direct consequences for Europe: the UK economy shrank in April as energy costs surged, and the European Union has struggled to manage the fallout from disrupted trade routes.
US ally Israel has said that Trump promised any agreement would strip Iran of its enriched nuclear material. But Tehran’s official IRNA news agency claimed this was not even on the table. According to IRNA, after an initial agreement is signed, Iran and the US would hold 60 more days of talks, during which “Iran’s right to enrich uranium and the retention of enriched material… will be emphasised with a view to their inclusion in the final agreement.” Iran also insists on managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded since the war began, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass after obtaining permission from its armed forces.
In Tehran, ordinary Iranians expressed mixed feelings. “I am not sure how I feel,” a 29-year-old cafe worker told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know if it will be good or bad for us. The main purpose of this war was for the US to remove the system and this did not happen. So what does a deal do?”
Iran’s demands could further complicate finalisation of an accord, despite Trump’s optimism spurring a stock market rally and a sharp drop in oil prices. On Friday, Iran’s Mehr news agency, quoting a source close to the negotiating team, published what it said was the text of a draft deal. The draft would end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel has kept up its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah—a conflict that has drawn in European diplomats seeking a ceasefire. It would also release $24 billion (€20 billion) in Iran’s frozen assets, set a 60-day period for nuclear negotiations, suspend sanctions on Iranian oil sales, lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and require the US and its allies to pay Iran reparations for war damage.
The European Union, which has imposed its own sanctions on Iran and sought to mediate, now faces a delicate balancing act. Any deal that leaves Iran with enriched uranium or control over the Strait of Hormuz could undermine European energy security, while a collapse of negotiations risks further instability on Europe’s southern flank.
