Trump lays out Iran deal demands, says he’s about to make ‘final determination’

Washington
President Donald Trump on Friday morning said he is meeting in the Situation Room “to make a final determination” after listing everything that Iran must do for him to approve a deal to end the war.
It was not immediately clear from Trump’s statement on Truth Social which of his make-or-break conditions are already part of a preliminary agreement that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are currently working on to pause the three-month-old war.
Iran “must agree” to never have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz must be “immediately open” to unrestricted shipping traffic, with no tolls being imposed, Trump demanded in the post.
He also said that the retaliatory U.S. naval blockade against Iran in the Gulf of Oman “will now be lifted,” though it was unclear if he meant that that step would only be taken if the prior conditions were met.
Trump also stated that enriched material buried at the site of last year’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be “unearthed” by the U.S. “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.”
“No money will be exchanged, until further notice,” Trump added. “Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to.”
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” he said.
Oil prices fell following Trump’s post.
The exact terms of the deal currently being discussed are unclear. Iranian state news outlet Fars later Friday pushed back on Trump’s post, saying it “raised issues that contradict the provisions of the agreement’s text.”
Despite Trump’s reference to a toll-free strait, there is “no such clause in the text of the agreement,” Fars reported in a translated Telegram post, citing “informed sources.”
The draft deal in discussion also contains no reference to Iran dismantling or destroying its nuclear materials, according to the Fars post.
Fars also asserted that “the most important part of the agreement” is “the immediate payment of $12 billion of Iran’s frozen assets.” Iran will refuse any further negotiations unless that payment is made, per Fars.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s questions about Trump’s post and the Fars rebuttal.
A White House official on Thursday confirmed an Axios report that the U.S. and Iranian negotiating teams have reached a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would extend the ongoing ceasefire and set up nuclear talks.
That memorandum would also lift restrictions in the strait and specify that Iran must remove all mines from the waterway within 30 days, while the U.S. would lift its blockade accordingly.
Addressing Iran’s highly enriched uranium and enrichment goals will be top priorities during the 60-day window, according to the Axios report. The draft would also tee up negotiations on sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds.