Washington and Tehran have reportedly reached terms for a 60-day framework to extend a ceasefire and open nuclear negotiations, but President Donald Trump has not yet given final approval.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump is weighing a proposed 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran after U.S. and Iranian teams reportedly reached terms on a temporary framework to extend a ceasefire and begin negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The proposal has drawn opposition from Iranian hardliners, who are attempting to undermine the agreement as talks move forward, according to a Telegraph report. Supporters of the emerging deal say the backlash inside Iran suggests the negotiations could weaken the country’s hardline faction while advancing U.S. security goals.
Trump addressed the state of negotiations Sunday, contrasting his approach with the Iran nuclear agreement reached under former President Barack Obama.
“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that talks with Iran 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 remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump said. “There can be no mistakes! Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one.”
Trump has said Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, while also signaling that he is prepared to allow negotiations to continue if U.S. demands are met.
The Telegraph reported that opponents of an agreement inside Iran have sought to disrupt the diplomatic process. The outlet said hardliners have taken steps including laying sea mines, encouraging U.S. missile launches during a ceasefire and attempting to place the broader agreement at risk.
The report described Iran’s political structure as one in which elected institutions operate beneath an unelected supreme leader who retains final authority over strategic matters. It said that system functioned under Ali Khamenei’s long rule but that his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, does not hold the same degree of authority.
The Telegraph said many Iranian officials have been left uncertain about the status of the talks, giving hardliners room to advance their own interpretations and warnings. The report said those hardliners oppose any agreement with the United States and are promoting worst-case assumptions about what Iranian negotiators may be conceding.
“Hardliners, who are opposed on principle to any agreement with the US, fill the void with worst-case assumptions, convinced that negotiators are surrendering Iran’s core values in a war they believe Iran has already won,” the outlet reported.
The report said those suspicions have generated mistrust toward Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s team and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and chief negotiator, with hardliners suspecting them of secretly making concessions.
Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that Iran remains interested in reaching an agreement.
“So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be. We will be. Either that, or we’ll have to just finish the job,” Trump said, again stating: “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said the U.S. position is not only about American security.
“I’m doing that for the world. I’m not doing it just for us. And we’ve had great support from other nations, by the way. We don’t need it at all, but we’ve had great support from other nations. The problem is, you always get the support when you don’t need it. … Our warriors are ensuring that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror never obtains a nuclear weapon, and they won’t,” Trump said.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA, said the reaction from Iranian hardliners indicates the proposed agreement could be favorable to Trump and the United States.
“One of the MAJOR clues that the proposed peace deal with Iran is such a big win for the country and for President Trump is that the hardliners in Iran are trying to sabotage it. The deal empowers and rewards the moderates and sidelines the hardliners,” Kolvet said in an X post. “Let’s get this deal done.”
A former White House official also described the possible agreement as an example of Trump’s negotiating strategy.
“Donald Trump is the best dealmaker we’ve ever had in the White House, and no President has ever been worse for Iran. The deal that’s coming together is the culmination of a decade of his work,” the former official said. “President Trump took out Soleimani, put in place Maximum Pressure sanctions, destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability, Navy, and military, and now he’s closing in on a deal that will neuter the Mullahs for a generation. It’s no wonder the IRGC is freaking out.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the Department of War is prepared to support either a negotiated resolution or further action if necessary.
“Whether it is through the efforts of your negotiators that they ensure that they never have a nuclear weapon, or we have to go back to the War Department to finish the job that way, we’re prepared to do that,” Hegseth said.
According to Axios, two unnamed U.S. officials and a regional source involved in mediation said Washington and Tehran have agreed on the terms of a 60-day MOU to extend the ceasefire while negotiations proceed. Trump must still approve the framework.
The agreement would pause hostilities while the two governments begin talks focused first on Iran’s highly enriched uranium and the future of its enrichment operations. Officials told Axios that the plan would require Iran to commit to not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
If Trump approves the framework, shipments through the Strait of Hormuz would resume. A U.S. official told Axios that no tolls would be collected and that harassment of vessels would not be permitted. Iran would also be required to remove mines from the strait within 30 days.
The proposed framework would also lead to the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade “in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping,” according to a U.S. official cited by Axios.
The MOU would include discussions over sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds. It would also establish talks over a mechanism to help Iran receive goods and humanitarian aid.
The reported progress comes after claims that an earlier peace proposal was disrupted. An X post alleged that Israel blocked Trump’s earlier movement toward a peace plan. On Tuesday, Alex Jones Live host Harrison Smith discussed claims that Israel derailed Trump’s Friday peace plan over the weekend.
The proposed Iran framework remains dependent on Trump’s final approval. If signed, it would open a 60-day window for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, frozen funds, humanitarian access and maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.
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