Trump boasted to the AFP news agency that there were no “sticking points” left, while also issuing a series of bizarre messages on social media regarding supposed "agreements" with Tehran.
In rapid-fire posts, Trump said Iran 'will give up nuclear' material and ‘never close’ the Hormuz Strait. But questions remain about the accuracy of his claims.
Alexandru Hudisteanu, a maritime security expert, said there has been no confirmation from Iran that such a pledge had been made.
“I don’t think that the Iranian leadership would have made this kind of commitment unequivocally and irrevocably.”
There were also lingering questions about another post Trump made, concerning the US decision to blockade the strait.
Trump posted that the ongoing US naval blockade “WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE”.
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that Tehran considers the continuation of the US blockade a violation of the current ceasefire terms.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that recent claims by Trump regarding Iran “were false”, and warned that the Strait of Hormuz “will not remain open” if the US blockade continues.
On Truth Social, Trump also said that “Iran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!”
But a US Navy advisory warned on Friday that the “status of TSS mine threat is not fully understood. Consider avoidance of that area”. The statement referred to the Traffic Separation Scheme, the two-way shipping lane in the strait.
Trump then took aim at NATO, which he has criticized for not supporting the US and Israeli war against Iran. “Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL,” Trump wrote.
Trump again appeared to claim that Iran would turn over its enriched uranium stockpile, writing on Truth Social that “the U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust'”.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei dismissing Trump’s claim. “Enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances,” he said.
Despite the outstanding questions, the US president struck a celebratory tone, calling Friday “A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!”
“We’re not seeing the full picture,” said Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, pointing to Trump’s penchant for hyperbole. Sayigh added that Trump could have ulterior motives in striking an upbeat tone, at a time when his blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up prices for everything from fuel to fertilizer. “It is very interesting that Trump is putting such a positive spin on things, not only to encourage markets and talk down oil prices and talk stock market prices up,” Sayigh said.
