13 June 2026
US, Iran say peace deal close, though differences remain
Officials from the United States and Iran have said that a ceasefire and a memorandum of understanding could be signed between the warring sides within the next few days.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said an agreement could be signed “in Europe” on Sunday, but he could not attend – possibly due to the fact that he will be hosting a mixed martial arts fight event on the White House lawn on the occasion of his birthday.
For those keeping track, this is approximately the fortieth time Trump has claimed that a peace agreement is imminent since the beginning of the war.
Still, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on Twitter on Friday: “The Islamabad memorandum of understanding has never been so close,” raising hopes that a pause in the fighting may indeed be near.
Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Friday quoted an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying that a draft “has almost been finalized and is awaiting a final decision from Iran’s decision-making bodies.”
In Tehran, any deal would have to be approved by Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been in hiding since the beginning of the conflict.
Sources in Tehran have said the ceasefire, which will be followed by further detailed negotiations, would include the release of $24 billion (€21 billion) in frozen Iranian assets as well as sanctions relief and the withdrawal of nearby US troops in exchange for Iran lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has blocked the strait since the war between the US and Israel began on February 28, threatening the global economy.
Tehran has insisted on receiving cash before opening the strait because it doubts Trump’s good faith in upholding the U.S. end of the deal, especially given his history of railing against unfreezing Iranian assets.
Trump in turn criticized Iranian media reports on the terms of the deal in a social media post late Friday, writing: “The terms that Iran leaked to fake news have no bearing on the terms that were agreed to in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on the deal, has no bearing on the truth.”