“So far, Iran has not reached a final conclusion on the agreement,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, after Trump said he expected a deal to be signed in Europe in the coming days.
The Tasnim news agency noted that Trump had announced a deal was imminent 38 times in the previous two months.
“Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded the same as his previous messaging,” it warned.
Iranian media also reported Baqaei as saying that large parts of the text under negotiation have been finalized but Iran would not compromise on its red lines.
Trump, meanwhile, told reporters at the White House: “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran.”
“The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend in Europe,” Trump said, adding Vice President JD Vance could sign for the United States.
When asked if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has approved the deal, Trump said: “I understand the answer is yes.”
Trump’s announcement came after he called off planned military strikes on Iran, citing progress in talks. US stocks rose and oil prices fell on the news.
The two sides have traded strikes this week, straining a ceasefire announced in April.
“It’s a very strong memorandum of understanding that is a little conceptual,” Trump told reporters.
Trump has repeatedly said that any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran denies it is seeking such a weapon.
Iran’s demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So it was a very big thing,” Trump said on Thursday.
The war has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and hit the world economy by pushing up energy prices since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
In recent days, the conflict has intensified despite a tenuous ceasefire that took effect in early April. After a US Apache helicopter was downed, Trump this week ordered new strikes around the Strait of Hormuz over two days. At the same time, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on US bases in the region.
Bahrain’s interior ministry on Thursday said an 11-year-old girl suffered minor injuries and homes were damaged after debris fell from Iranian drones that were intercepted and destroyed.
Trump had earlier said that the United States would hit Iran “very hard tonight” and wanted eventually to take Iran’s oil infrastructure hub Kharg Island.
The island handles 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran’s energy trade, placing enormous pressure on Tehran’s economy. (Agencies)
