It was unclear early Sunday when or whether the United States and Iran might sign a peace agreement, after President Trump and Tehran offered conflicting timelines.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post on Saturday that a deal was “scheduled to get signed” the next day and that it would immediately open the Strait of Hormuz. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, a key mediator in the negotiations, had said in a post hours earlier that the finalization of an agreement was expected within 24 hours, followed by the “electronic signing of the peace deal.”
But Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said that a deal would not be signed on Sunday, though he left open the possibility that one could be in the coming days, according to the Iranian state news media.
Neither the United States nor Iran has shared text of the deal being considered, and it could still be derailed. American and Iranian officials have said that under a “memorandum of understanding,” Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the United States would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, and the cease-fire that the two sides agreed to in April would be extended for 60 days.
During that period, both sides would commit to holding detailed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, where differences persist and neither side has shown much willingness to compromise, and over the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Diplomatic agreements like this are usually signed in person, and it was not immediately clear why this one might be inked electronically. Mr. Trump, who is expected to remain in Washington on Sunday, his 80th birthday, had previously said he would send Vice President JD Vance to attend the signing if a deal was finalized.
Mr. Baghaei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Saturday that there were no plans for an Iranian negotiating team to travel to Geneva, where a signing ceremony had been expected to take place, or elsewhere in the next day or two, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
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Opposition in Iran: There were signs on Saturday that some conservative factions in the Iranian government and the military were opposed to the peace agreement being negotiated. Two conservative parliamentarians criticized it, with one saying in a television interview that under the agreement, “Iran would become a colony of America.”
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Lebanon: Fighting persisted on Saturday in Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have been at war for months as efforts to establish a lasting cease-fire have faltered. Iranian officials want the broader regional peace settlement to include the fighting in Lebanon and have called for the Israeli military to withdraw from Lebanese territory.
