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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran, just days after insisting that his administration and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a settlement but with the negotiations still in a state of flux. As he prepares to huddle with his top aides, Trump is projecting confidence that he's closing in on a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and provide him a credible argument that Iran’s nuclear capability has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that's been...

Mehek Cooke@MehekCookeTrump just turned the Abraham Accords into an accountability trap for the Gulf states and Iran walked right into it.Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey have never held Iran accountable is due to exposure. They share a neighborhood. They can't sanction, shame, or confront Iran while having zero security architecture binding them to the West or to each other.The Abraham Accords change that math entirely. Once Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey are signatories, they aren't just recognizing Israel they are locking themselves into a collective security posture.A breach of the Iran deal becomes their problem...

The best hope for ending a poorly planned war, which started with scant consultation with Congress or the American people, may be an unsatisfactory peace that leaves critical issues to be resolved later and deepens Washington strife. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said a deal to halt the conflict he chose against Iran is imminent and very close. Each time, his predictions turned out to be wishful thinking or a misreading of Iran’s true intentions. So it’s no surprise his latest claims that a framework agreement with Tehran is near have been met with skepticism and confusion — nor that...

President Trump kicked off Memorial Day with his traditional passive-aggressive holiday rage post against his enemies, bashing “all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran.” The president got an earlier start than in recent holidays, firing off his standard holiday rage post around 6:18 am ET. “Happy Memorial Day to all, including the Dumocrats, who disrespect our Military and all of the tremendous success that it has had over the last year. God Bless those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. I love you all!” he posted on Truth...

On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the deal that they are working on will involve "no dust, no dollars" and will not be like the failed Iran deal of Barack Obama, that it will be a good deal, or there will be no deal. He clapped back at criticism from people he said didn't know the Now, Trump has dropped a big update to the deal — that ultimately, it could turn out to be a more far-reaching peace deal. He said negotiations were proceeding "nicely" with Iran. Trump announced on Truth Social that he had held a conference call...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is pushing back on fellow Republicans who have criticized an emerging deal being negotiated by the Trump administration to end the war with Iran. Paul, who has criticized the war while joining with Democrats to support War Powers Resolution votes to curb President Trump’s actions, said those criticizing Trump should give him room to operate. “War virtually always ends with negotiations,” Paul wrote in a post on X. “Critics of President Trump’s peace negotiations should give President Trump the space to find an American First solution.” Trump on Saturday said the U.S. was getting close to...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump One of the worst deals ever made by our Country was the Iran Nuclear Deal, put forth and signed into existence by Barack Hussein Obama and the rank amateurs of the Obama Administration. It was a direct path to Iran developing a Nuclear Weapon. Not so with the transaction currently being negotiated with Iran by the Trump Administration - THE EXACT OPPOSITE, in fact! The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. The Blockade will...

President Trump vowed Sunday Iran will never have a nuclear weapon — after top GOP Senators openly voiced skepticism over the reported details of the delicate peace deal. Trump, who previously said on Saturday that his negotiators were “finalizing” the agreement, suggested in a post on Truth Social Sunday morning that he would wait until the right agreement could be struck. “I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” he said. “Both sides...

Iran has agreed to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of a “largely negotiated” deal to end the war, according to US sources.The deal includes an “apparent commitment” to giving up the uranium, but a concrete plan of how this would be done is expected to be established in further rounds of talks, two US officials told The New York Times.Iran’s nuclear programme has been a sticking point in negotiations since the US and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in April, and agreeing to give up its uranium would represent a major concession from the Islamic Republic.However,...

It's beginning to look a lot like there's a deal with Iran in the making. President Trump has been making optimistic remarks, while noting that the United States is sticking by its one primary point, which is preventing Iran from ever making or obtaining a nuclear weapon. On Sunday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in India, delivered the latest news on that front. 🚨 JUST IN: Sec. Marco Rubio says MAJOR PROGRESS has been made with Iran, and GREAT NEWS could be coming soon on the Strait of HormuzLFG! 🔥Rubio is dealing overseas, working hard!"Maybe more news coming...

Multiple reports have indicated that U.S. negotiators believe that Iran has committed to giving up its nuclear ambitions and its highly enriched uranium as a part of a broader peace deal with President Donald Trump. On Saturday afternoon, President Trump announced that an “agreement has been largely negotiated” between Washington and Tehran. However, Mr Trump said that the final details of the deal were still being discussed and would not be made public at the time. According to a report from the New York Times, citing “two U.S. officials”, the Islamist regime in Iran verbally agreed to U.S. negotiators that...

Iran is expected to agree to a 60-day memorandum of understanding that will ultimately end the war between the US and Iran if negotiated terms are met in the coming months. It is now being reported that after Trump’s conference call with Gulf and Arab leaders on Saturday, which Trump announced was a success, Iran’s supreme leader has approved the deal, pending additional review from Iranian leadership. Iran has reportedly also agreed in principle to dispose of highly enriched uranium. Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and Special Peace Envoy Jared Kushner are currently...

According to Iranian and Arab sources Trump agreed to -compensate Tehran by releasing blocked funds (at least $6 billion) -lift sanctions -remove American forces from around Iran (Iranian sources more specifically mention the naval assets in the region) -lift the blockade -ceasefire in all fronts including in Lebanon (basically allowing Tehran to rearm its proxy network and help Hizballah reasserts its control in Lebanon) In exchange for -gradual reopening of Strait of Hormuz with the transit remaining under Tehran’s management and control -negotiations over other issues with no hard deadline (the 30-day negotiation window can be extended) Washington has not...

Trump may delay, Congress may posture, and Iran may stall—but the endgame remains the same: finish the job or repeat the failures of Obama and Biden.I am out on a limb. The clock is ticking. On Wednesday, I wrote in my new Substack column that I thought it unlikely that “the ‘negotiations’ or (to describe what is happening more accurately) the grandstanding and playing for time by Iran will not result in an affidavit of surrender that is acceptable to President Trump.” If that is the case, and given that the U.S. Senate is making noises about enacting a War...

The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are on the cusp of reaching an interim peace deal to end the conflict that began with Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28. President Donald Trump had initially indicated that he was “50/50” as to whether or not strikes against the Persian state would continue. On Saturday afternoon, Trump issued a statement on social media stating that a deal had largely been finalized. 🚨🚨🚨Scoop: President Trump tells me he's "solid 50/50" on Iran deal or bombing. Trump said he will meet senior advisers today to discuss latest draft agreement and may...

Key Senate Republicans are raising concerns about a reported peace deal being negotiated with Iran, arguing it would be a disaster for the United States that would make meaningless the war launched by President Trump nearly three months ago. “The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a post on social platform X. He said the effects of the joint military operation between the U.S. and Israel titled “Operation Epic Fury” would “be...

Big things are happening at the White House right now. The rumors started earlier today, Trump had either reached a deal with Iran or he has rejected a deal and would increase the bombings. Secretary Rubio dropped a hint on Saturday that the next step in the Iran war/conflict/whatever would be decided imminently. And it appears that Trump has gathered his top officials to Washington immediately, reportedly to discuss a draft of a deal proposed by Iran. JD Vance was rushed to the White House, interrupting his Ohio Memorial Day weekend plans. Secretary Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs...

Iran's top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir during talks in ​Tehran on Saturday that the U.S. was not an honest ‌party in negotiations to end their war and Iran would not compromise on its national rights, state television reported. A regional mediation push led by Pakistan aims to narrow ​differences between Iran and the U.S. after weeks of war that ​have left the vital waterway of the Strait of Hormuz ⁠closed to most shipping despite a nervous ceasefire, upending global energy ​markets. Iranian state media reported that Munir had also met President Masoud...

The Trump administration was preparing Friday for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning, even as diplomacy continued. No final decision on strikes had been reached as of Friday afternoon. "Circumstances pertaining to Government" are keeping President Trump from attending his son Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding this weekend, he said in a social media post. The president had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf property in New Jersey but will now return to the White House. Some members of the U.S. military and intelligence community canceled their...

Iran has asserted expanded control over the Strait of Hormuz, publishing a map showing its claims extending into the coastal waters of the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and holding talks with Oman about sharing fees from ships traversing the waterway. The move was denounced on Friday as unacceptable by US Secretary of State Mario Rubio, who urged all countries to oppose it, and prompted a letter of protest from five Gulf states. US President Donald Trump on Thursday stressed, “We want [the Strait of Hormuz] open, we want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s an international waterway.” Iran’s...