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Iran’s foreign ministry says it must be cautious in commenting on deal signing date
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Iran’s foreign ministry ruled out the signing of the final peace deal between Tehran and Washington on Sunday after President Donald Trump posted on social media that it was scheduled for 14 June.
Trump on Saturday said the deal with Iran was scheduled “to be signed tomorrow” in a post online, claiming the Strait of Hormuz will then be “open to all”.
He added that the administration’s “relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous administrations have had”.The US president ended his post on a sinister note as he warned there is the “ultimate alternative, hopefully never to be used again” if process does not work “smoothly”.
However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the exact timing of the signing of the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday but could happen “in the coming days”.
It had been reported that Trump is scrambling to secure a peace deal with Iran before the G7 summit with world leaders on Monday.
Meanwhile, Tehran announced the funeral for their late supreme leader Ali Khamenei would take place on 4 July, with a burial date set for 9 July.
Details emerging from negotiations suggest the proposed US–Iran framework agreement would initially focus on restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz before tackling the more contentious issue of Tehran’s nuclear programme.
According to sources familiar with the talks, the memorandum of understanding would require Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies, while the United States would lift its naval blockade. A US official said the two steps would occur simultaneously, followed by efforts to clear mines from the waterway, potentially with support from G7 countries.
“Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement. It could be open with no tolls. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” a US official told reporters.
“It’s going to happen in conjunction, and part of the next step, the phase after that, is going to be the demining of the straits,” the official said, indicating countries in the Group of Seven major powers could have a role in this.
The draft terms also reportedly include the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waivers on sanctions affecting Iran’s oil exports in exchange for Tehran reopening the strait.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the release of frozen assets was an essential part of any agreement. Iran’s Fars news agency also quoted him as saying Tehran would continue to charge for services in the Strait of Hormuz and that foreign military bases in the region should be removed, although no further details were provided.
The agreement would then open a 60-day window for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. A US official said Washington ultimately wants Iran’s nuclear programme dismantled, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium destroyed and removed from the country.
The outlines of the proposed deal were discussed on Saturday in a call between US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer, according to Downing Street.
Opposition to the proposed US–Iran framework agreement was on display across Iran on Saturday, with hardliners staging rallies in Tehran and other cities to denounce any compromise with Washington.
Videos circulating on social media and Iranian news websites appeared to show demonstrators gathered outside Iran’s foreign ministry and in public squares in Tehran, chanting slogans against foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, including: “Araqchi, have some shame, let go of America.”
At pro-government rallies across the country, hardline protesters also voiced anger at the tentative deal. In the northeastern city of Mashhad, one resident told Reuters that some demonstrators chanted “Death to the compromiser” and called on Araqchi to resign.
The unrest comes as fighting continues despite diplomatic efforts. The US military said it intercepted multiple Iranian attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, while Israel announced strikes on more than 70 Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon over the previous 24 hours.
The exact timing of the signing of the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, according to state media on Saturday.
Baghaei said the possibility of signing the Islamabad memorandum in the coming days could not be ruled out, but added that caution was needed regarding any comment on the signing date due to the hesitation of the other side.
The Lebanese army on Saturday withdrew its troops from a base in a southern Lebanese village after Israeli troops advanced in an area nearby, a military official said.
The departure from the army barracks in Kfar Tebnit came as the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for about 20 locations, including the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported airstrikes on Saturday on different villages near Nabatiyeh, including one that killed two people in Deir al-Zahrani. It added that Nabatiyeh was subjected to artillery shelling on Saturday.
Opposition to the proposed US–Iran agreement has a
lso emerged from within Iran’s political establishment, with a conservative lawmaker warning that the framework under discussion violates principles set out by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking at a pro-government gathering, Mohammad Mannan Raisi, the MP representing the holy city of Qom, criticised the memorandum of understanding expected to be signed in the coming days, arguing that it crossed Khamenei’s “red lines”.
In a strongly worded speech, Raisi urged Iranian officials involved in the negotiations to show what he described as “a bit of honour” and accused them of making excessive concessions.
He also referred to US president Donald Trump as the “killer” of Khamenei, reflecting continuing anger among hardline factions over the conflict and Washington’s role in it.
A planned Sunday signing of a framework agreement aimed at ending the US and Iran conflict appeared uncertain after Tehran declined to confirm the timeline, despite optimistic statements from Washington and Islamabad.
US president Donald Trump said on social media that a deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed on Sunday, while Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said both sides had agreed on a framework and that preparations were underway for an electronic signing.
However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei cast doubt on the timing, saying the agreement would “not be tomorrow” but could be finalised “in the coming days”.
Trump said that once a framework agreement is signed, the Strait of Hormuz – a critical route for global oil shipments that Iran has blocked – would immediately reopen to international traffic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
Hours after those remarks, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drones had posed a threat to commercial traffic.
U.S. Central Command later confirmed the action and said the strait, a major artery for global oil supplies, was open.Iran has for months effectively blockaded the strait, and the U.S. navy has blocked Iranian ports to reduce its oil exports.
The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. naval blockade, sources on all sides of the talks said.
Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program – Trump’s stated rationale for starting the war – would take place afterwards.
“Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement. It could `be open with no tolls. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” said the U.S. official who spoke on Saturday.
“It’s going to happen in conjunction, and part of the next step, the phase after that, is going to be the demining of the straits,” the official said, indicating countries in the Group of Seven major powers could have a role in this.
Air raid sirens have been activated across parts of Jordan, according to state television.
More details are awaited.
The funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9, state media reported on Saturday.
Khamenei, was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran in February. His death marked the end of more than three decades at the helm of the Islamic Republic.
The start of the funeral will coincide with America’s Independence Day, a major federal holiday in the United States.
President Donald Trump is set to meet with Middle Eastern leaders at the G7 summit in France next week, senior US officials said Saturday, and he is expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Evian, France, for the G7 summit early Monday after attending UFC Freedom 250, a mixed martial arts event at the White House, on Sunday.
He will speak to a number of European leaders who he’s squabbled with over trade, tariffs, Ukraine and NATO since his return to the White House early in 2025.
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