What to know about the emerging US-Iran deal to end war, reopen Strait of Hormuz
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What to know about the emerging US-Iran deal to end war, reopen Strait of Hormuz
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by Ryan Mancini - 05/25/26 7:14 PM ET
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by Ryan Mancini - 05/25/26 7:14 PM ET
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Iranian officials are in Qatar for talks amid efforts between the U.S. and Iran to bring about an end to the nearly three-month-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a risk that hostilities could resume if neither side agrees to the latest emerging proposal
President Trump on Monday took to Truth Social to write that the negotiations are “proceeding nicely.”
“It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!” he added.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both indicated that a final agreement, though not settled, could be imminent. The president said Friday night that the potential deal was “largely negotiated.”
Trump’s remarks on Monday came hours before explosions could be heard along the coastal areas of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s Bandar Abbas city, Reuters reported. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosions.
Additionally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli Defense Force carried out a barrage of new attacks in southern Lebanon, CBS News reported. This is despite a ceasefire –– a condition of the U.S.-Iranian truce –– that has stayed intact since April 17.
Little is known about the talks held in Qatar, with Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf leading the delegation. He met with Vice President Vance in April.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei indicated that a final deal could be reached, but noted that the emerging proposal would be a preliminary framework instead of a multi-faceted memorandum of understanding, The New York Times reported.
“The focus of the negotiations is on ending the war and at this stage, there is no discussion about nuclear details,” Baqaei said during a press conference Monday, referring to Iran’s nuclear program, which the Trump administration has contended must be terminated as a condition of any end of the conflict.
The deal would have Iran give up its stockpile of enriched uranium. The details of this removal, however, would be hashed out during future talks amid a 60-day extension of the ceasefire.
Trump said Monday that that the enriched uranium “will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably… destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent.”
Iran’s nuclear program has been the focal point of the conflict. The U.S. has asserted that Iran cannot be allowed to possess or create a nuclear weapon, citing Tehran’s threat to the Israel and the U.S.
Trump and other administration officials have previously accused Iran of being an “imminent nuclear threat,” echoing similar claims from Netanyahu.
The potential deal would seek to put an end to the 12-week conflict and would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s closing of the Strait has wreaked havoc on energy prices, causing them to skyrocket globally. The strait would reopen as the U.S. gradually lifts its blockade in the region, which Trump instituted to block Iranian oil shipping vessels from exporting their cargo.
The national average for gas in the U.S. dipped slightly going into Monday but remains high at $4.50, according to AAA. A gallon of gas was $3 in February before the conflict began.
If the deal is agreed to, the U.S. would also issue sanctions waivers to allow Iran to sell oil and unfreeze billions of dollars in assets.
Republican lawmakers and one former Trump administration official, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, slammed reports of the potential deal. They each emphasized the need to de-nuclearize Iran and suggested that the emerging deal lacked details on how that would be accomplished.
Netanyahu backed Trump on the memorandum of understanding, but also emphasized the importance of “dismantling [of] Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and removing its enriched nuclear material from its territory.”
Trump blasted both political parties who have criticized the deal.
“I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran, things that haven’t even been negotiated yet,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, referring to Democrats and “Republicans in name only.”
The Associated Press contributed.
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