President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared progress toward a potential deal with Iran, claiming Tehran had made a valuable offer to the U.S. even as Iranian officials denied that formal negotiations were taking place.
Trump said the offer involved what he called “a very significant prize” connected to the Strait of Hormuz, though he did not provide details.
“We’ve won this. This war has been won,” Trump declared in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The president’s remarks came amid conflicting accounts of backchannel diplomacy involving the U.S., Iran and regional intermediaries, including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey.
Trump on Monday said he is pausing energy strikes on Iran amid ongoing negotiations with the country.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, called the talks “fake news” intended to manipulate financial and oil markets. While Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denied Iran was negotiating with the U.S., he told state media that the ministry was responding to requests through intermediaries of friendly countries.
A separate report cited by Channel 12 on Tuesday said the U.S. working with mediators, has discussed the possibility of a “peace summit” in Islamabad as early as Thursday. It also said Iran has not yet agreed to participate.
Later Tuesday, several news outlets reported that the U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war.
The document, delivered through intermediaries, calls on Iran to dismantle its three main nuclear sites, end all uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, and suspend its ballistic missile program, according to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal. It also urges Tehran to curb support for regional proxies and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The New York Times reported that it was unclear how widely the plan has been circulated among Iranian officials. It was also unclear whether Israel, which is attacking Iran alongside the U.S., would support the plan.
In remarks Tuesday afternoon, Trump said the main goal of the war is ensuring that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. “We’re talking about that, and I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon. They’ve agreed to that,” he said.
