Iran says no final decision made on deal Trump hopes to sign this weekend

Tehran said on Friday it had not reached a final decision on a deal to end the Middle East war, directly contradicting US President Donald Trump, who cancelled threatened strikes on Iran and claimed an agreement could be signed within days.

Trump said talks had been approved at the highest level of Iranian leadership. Iran's foreign ministry disputed that account.

What deal is Trump claiming has been agreed with Iran?

Trump said discussions had been approved "in both concept and great detail" by the United States, Israel and Gulf states. He claimed the arrangement included a commitment to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He added that the time and place of a signing would be announced shortly, and that Vice President JD Vance could sign on behalf of the United States.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei pushed back directly. He said Tehran "had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement" and that progress had stalled after the US side introduced new demands and shifted its positions. The Tasnim news agency pointed out that Trump had announced a deal was imminent 38 times in the previous two months, saying any such claim should be treated as consistent with his previous messaging.

Why did Trump cancel the strikes on Iran?

Trump said he cancelled "scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran" after concluding that talks had reached the highest level of Iranian leadership and been approved. The cancellation reversed a threat made just a day earlier, when Trump had said US forces would strike Iran hard and potentially seize control of Kharg Island, which handles 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Trump later told reporters "I understand the answer is yes," when asked whether Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had personally approved the deal. Iran did not confirm this. Egypt welcomed the de-escalation, saying the US and Iran should seize the "available opportunity" to reach an agreement.

What is the current state of the US-Iran war?

The war began on February 28, when a wave of US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A ceasefire took effect in April, but efforts to reach a permanent end to the fighting have repeatedly stalled. In recent days, both sides traded strikes, with Iran launching missile and drone attacks on US bases and Kuwait reporting that Iranian drones damaged an airport radar, forcing an airspace closure.

Iranian General Ali Abdollahi warned earlier on Friday that if the US attacked, Iran "will receive a harsher response than before, and the flames of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and far-reaching." Tehran's mayor also announced Thursday that the state funeral of the slain supreme leader had been postponed to late June or early July.

What do civilians in Iran and the region think of the deal?

Civilians in Tehran facing the prospect of renewed strikes remained deeply skeptical. Majid, a 35-year-old pharmacist, said the economic effects of the conflict were crippling daily life. "I am absolutely not optimistic about the agreement being finalized, because the gap between the two countries is too wide," he said, citing Israeli involvement and hardliners within Iran as key obstacles.

Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz largely closed since early in the war, severely disrupting global oil and gas trade. Iran's body overseeing the strait said it "will be closed until further notice." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader spoke with Trump, who committed that any memorandum of understanding would include the removal of Tehran's enriched nuclear material and the dismantling of missile infrastructure.