Donald Trump has announced a peace deal with Iran will be signed on Sunday, hours after Iranian officials insisted it would not be finalised that quickly and as Israeli jets bombed the Lebanese capital in a breach of the ceasefire.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said: “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.” He added that the agreement would be “a wall to no nuclear weapon” and that Iran would have “neither purchase, development nor any other form of procurement” of a nuclear device. Trump also warned that if things did not “work out quickly, easily and smoothly”, Washington had “the ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again!”
“Trump claims US-Iran deal to be signed Sunday; Iran says not tomorrow; Israel bombs Beirut, jeopardising truce.”
But Tehran immediately cast doubt on the timeline. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said: “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow [Sunday].” Iran’s Fars news agency reported that officials were still reviewing the political, legal and technical dimensions of the proposals.
The war, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli strikes across Iran, has been marked by repeated failed attempts at a ceasefire. The current deal envisages an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon – a condition Iran has long insisted upon. Yet on Sunday, the Israeli military struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern suburbs of Beirut, saying it was a response to three projectiles fired towards northern Israel, which it called a “blatant ceasefire violation”.
Iran’s top negotiator responded by accusing the US of bad faith. “The US either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so,” he said. The last time Israel hit the Beirut suburbs, a week earlier, it triggered the most serious escalation between Iran and Israel since the ceasefire took hold on 7 April. There was no immediate White House comment on the strikes.
Despite the tensions, Pakistan, a key mediator, said on Saturday that a deal was “likely expected” to be finalised within 24 hours. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X: “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week.” A delegation from Qatar, another mediator, arrived in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian media reported.
Trump, who is celebrating his 80th birthday on Sunday, has been scrambling to secure a deal before the G7 summit on Monday. But with Iran still weighing its options and Israeli bombs falling on Beirut, the question of whether the agreement will hold remains unanswered.