Trump Says US-Iran Deal Is Imminent as Strait of Hormuz Reopening Looms; Tehran Urges Patience

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN, June 14 — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Iran were close to signing a deal that would end months of standoff and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian officials said negotiations had not concluded.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the agreement would be finalised shortly and that the waterway — through which roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes — would reopen to shipping once it took effect.

In Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, speaking at a weekly press briefing, said talks were progressing but that no date had been set and no final decision reached on whether or when to sign.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government has played a mediating role, said both sides had moved closer and that technical preparations for a potential electronic signing were underway if the remaining issues were cleared. Sharif did not say what those issues were. Qatar has also remained active in facilitating the talks.

The agreement under discussion would address maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and create a channel for future talks over Iran's nuclear programme, according to officials involved in the talks. Economic incentives for Tehran, they said, would come only after Iran demonstrated compliance with the deal's terms.

Iran has maintained its nuclear activities are for civilian energy purposes. Western governments have continued pressing for legally binding assurances to the contrary.

The negotiations remain fluid, and officials in Washington and Tehran have yet to announce a definitive timeline for any agreement.