Trump says deal to end war will be signed on June 14, Iran questions timing

• US and Pakistan announced an imminent peace deal between US and Iran, with electronic signing expected June 14. The Strait of Hormuz would immediately reopen, ending Iran's blockade.
• Key deal terms are disputed: Iran wants to retain diluted uranium and charge Strait tolls, while US demands nuclear dismantling and free passage. Frozen assets release is also critical.
• Despite optimism, considerable scepticism exists in Iran regarding the deal. Israel opposes the agreement, vowing to retain freedom of action and not withdraw from occupied areas.

TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said on June 13 that a deal with Iran to end the war in the Middle East would be signed on June 14, although Iran denied the signing would take place so soon.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the two sides had agreed on a framework for a peace deal and that Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing on June 14, to be followed by technical-level talks next week.

Trump also said in a social media post that the deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed on June 14 and that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies which Iran has blocked, would be immediately “open to all” after it was signed.

“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” he said on his Truth Social platform.

Earlier on June 13, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei cautioned against commenting on the timing of the signing.

“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 state media quoted him as saying.

“The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out. However, due to the hesitation of the other side, we must be cautious in making any comments about this process.”

A US official who spoke to reporters later declined to be drawn on the timing but said: “It’s a great deal and a very strong deal.”

It is not the first time the two sides have appeared close to an initial agreement on ending the war that began on Feb 28 with a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran. Pakistan’s Sharif said on X: “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before.”

The war has sent global energy prices sharply higher and killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, where the war has revived a conflict between Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah militants.

On June 12, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict. Hours after those remarks, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading towards the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, which first reported the shootdowns.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drones had posed a threat to commercial traffic. US Central Command later confirmed the action and said the strait, a major artery for global oil supplies, was open.

Iran has for months effectively blockaded the strait, and the US Navy has blocked Iranian ports to reduce its oil exports.

As pro-government night rallies continued across Iran for more than 100 nights, residents and news agencies reported slogans being chanted by opponents of the agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser”, in an apparent reference to Foreign Minister Araghchi. “Compromiser, resign, resign.”

The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme – Trump’s stated rationale for starting the war – would take place afterwards.

“Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement. It could be open with no tolls. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” said the US official who spoke on June 13.

“It’s going to happen in conjunction, and part of the next step, the phase after that, is going to be the demining of the straits,” the official said, indicating that countries in the Group of Seven major powers could have a role in this.

Trump discussed the efforts to end the Iran conflict in a call with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Downing Street said on June 13.

Hormuz drones

Draft terms described to Reuters by multiple sources indicate the US would begin releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports, in return for Iran opening the strait.

Iran’s Fars news agency quoted Baghaei as saying the release of Iran’s frozen assets was an integral part of the agreement and that Iran would have to charge for services in the Strait of Hormuz.

Fars also quoted him as saying foreign military bases in the region must end, without providing details.

Iran’s nuclear programme would be addressed during a 60-day period of talks. A US official said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed.

But Araghchi said that Iran, which sources said has not accepted the dismantling of its nuclear programme, wanted to retain the uranium in diluted form.

The proposals also include discussion of possible war reparations for Tehran and dropping longstanding US demands for limits on Iran’s missile programme, the sources said. The US official disputed that account.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would not be party to the agreement. He has clashed with Trump over US demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to allow Washington to reach a deal with Tehran.

Araghchi said the agreement would end the war in Lebanon, implying an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas.

Israel’s Defence Minister said it would not withdraw. A senior Israeli official said Israel expects to retain its freedom to act against threats.

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed in an air strike on the first day of the war and later replaced in the role by his son Mojtaba.

Khamenei’s funeral will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in his home town, the north-eastern holy city of Mashhad, on July 9, Iranian state media reported on June 13. REUTERS