US President Donald Trump has said an agreement to end the war with Iran could be signed on Sunday, adding that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to international shipping immediately afterwards.
His comments came as both sides and their mediators expressed growing confidence that months of negotiations were nearing a conclusion, despite continuing military tensions in the Gulf.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump wrote, "The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.”
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil and gas transit routes, has been blockaded by Iran since the early stages of the conflict, disrupting global energy markets and international trade.
Pakistan, which has played a key mediating role between Tehran and Washington, also indicated that an agreement was close. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X that the “finalisation” of the deal was expected “within the next 24 hours”.
He said the agreement would be signed electronically, although he did not provide further details. He added that “technical level talks” were expected to take place next week. Pakistan’s foreign ministry later confirmed that the signing was planned for Sunday.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei suggested a different timetable. He said a signing would not take place on Sunday but acknowledged that an agreement could be reached soon.
“The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Despite the diplomatic progress, tensions remained high in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military’s Central Command said Iran had “launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait”. It added that US forces had intercepted and destroyed all of them.
The two sides have continued to present differing accounts of the proposed agreement. Tehran has insisted it will retain control over the Strait of Hormuz. Since imposing the blockade, Iran has required ships to obtain permission from its armed forces before passing through the waterway and has established a new authority to supervise transit and collect tolls.
The United States has responded by imposing its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a television interview on Friday that the proposed agreement included the lifting of the US naval blockade.
“The administration of the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before,” he said, describing the waterway as one of Iran’s “main instruments of deterrence”.
Washington has repeatedly stated that continued Iranian control over access to the strait would be unacceptable. Trump’s latest remarks made no reference to tolls or future management arrangements.
Another major obstacle in the negotiations remains Iran’s nuclear programme, particularly its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which US strikes reportedly buried during a previous conflict last year.
Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are peaceful and that it has a legitimate right to enrich uranium. However, the United States, Israel and several Western governments suspect Tehran is seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons.
Araghchi said the only acceptable solution for Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile “is to dilute it inside Iran”.
Trump has previously argued that the material should be removed and destroyed. On Saturday, he reiterated that position.
“When all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust... and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States,” he wrote.
“Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly. If it doesn’t, we have the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government joined the United States in launching military operations against Iran in February, said Trump had assured him that any final agreement would include the removal of Iran’s enriched nuclear material.
In Iran, however, there were signs of public scepticism about the prospects of a breakthrough.
“I don’t think there is any deal soon,” said Saeed Sadeghi, a 49-year-old resident of Tehran. “I don’t trust their word.”
Iran’s Fars news agency published footage from the northeastern city of Mashhad showing dozens of protesters gathered outside a foreign ministry building on Saturday. The demonstrators, many of them women wearing black chadors, waved red and black flags and chanted, "Death to dishonourable Araghchi, the infiltrator.”
The contrasting messages from Washington and Tehran highlighted both the progress made in negotiations and the significant issues that remain unresolved as efforts continue to secure a formal end to the conflict.
