US President Donald Trump has not yet reached a decision on extending the Iran ceasefire or reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite holding talks with advisers.
A roughly two-hour meeting in the White House situation room with national security aides concluded on Friday without a final determination being reached.
A senior US administration official, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to comment publicly, said Trump would only sign a deal that “satisfies his redlines” and curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran currently holds 440.9kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, which is only a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The US wants Iran to surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium, but Iran has so far refused, with Trump repeatedly stating he does not want Tehran to possess a nuclear weapon.
Trump wrote on social media that “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb”, and also demanded the Strait of Hormuz be reopened and all sea mines destroyed.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking in Singapore, struck a more optimistic tone, saying he is “quite confident” that Trump will ultimately secure a deal with Iran.
Hegseth said: “Any deal that the president is willing to make, he’s only going to make what he believes is a great deal, for our country and the world… You saw it in how he’s been talking about it publicly.”
He added that the “goalposts haven’t shifted at all”, suggesting the closer Iran gets to meeting US “expectations”, the clearer the likelihood of a deal becomes.
Hegseth also confirmed that talks so far “have been productive”, while warning that the US military remains prepared to resume operations in the Gulf region if required.
Despite Hegseth’s confidence, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, accused Trump of “betraying diplomacy for the third time” in response to the current peace proposal.
The adviser pointed to the continuing US naval blockade on Iran and what he described as excessive demands being made during negotiations, placing blame squarely on the White House.
A senior Iranian diplomat told ISNA news agency that Iran’s draft for an initial agreement includes an end to the war on all fronts, the release of blocked Iranian assets, and the lifting of the US naval blockade.
Iran has also called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened, the withdrawal of US forces from Iran’s vicinity, and the freedom to sell Iranian oil on international markets.