Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said Friday that the potential deal on the table with the U.S., which President Trump said he was preparing to make a “final determination” on imminently, was still “in the final stages of ratification in Iran and has not yet been decided.”
The report questioned the president’s “claims about the Iran deal,” which Mr. Trump presented in his Friday Truth Social post as demands. They included that Tehran reopen and help to de-mine the Strait of Hormuz, and that the regime cooperate with the U.S. to have its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium “destroyed.”
The Fars report cited unnamed Iranian officials describing Mr. Trump’s statement as “a mixture of truth and lies.”
“According to these sources, it has become clear to almost everyone that these claims are invalid,” Fars claimed.
It listed what it called Mr. Trump’s “distortions,” including that Iran would be required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “without receiving tolls, while there is no such clause in the text of the agreement.”
“Iran has insisted that after the lifting of the [U.S.] blockade, it will open the strait based on its predetermined arrangements. These arrangements can range from monitoring and inspecting ships to providing services and providing security,” it said.
“Trump has claimed that Iran is removing or destroying its nuclear material. Sources have emphasized that not only is there no such thing in the Memorandum of Understanding, but that the claim is fundamentally unfounded,” said the report.
It said the current draft agreement did include the U.S. accepting the immediate release of “$12 billion in frozen assets of Iran,” while Mr. Trump, in his social media post, said “no money will be exchanged, until further notice.”
“Another issue is the establishment of a complete ceasefire in Lebanon in accordance with Hezbollah,” the Fars report claimed – something Mr. Trump did not mention.
