President Donald Trump hailed a tentative peace deal in the works with Iran with the caveat that in-person truce signings remain “too far” off.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
Shortly after that post, Trump told media outlets, “I don’t think” there should be any imminent plans to make a trip to the Middle East for any longtime peace deal talks or denuclearization signing.
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“It’s too far,” Trump reportedly told the New York Post on Wednesday morning. “No, it’s too much.”
Trump has long panned his peace negotiators getting on a long trek to the Middle East for merely exchanging ceasefire or peace proposals, repeating many times in the past week that talks with him and his administration can be done “telephonically” for now.
“I think we’ll do it” over the phone, Trump has said.
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Trump’s Truth post came as reports suggested Washington and Tehran were nearing a possible framework to end their 67-day war, with Pakistan helping mediate talks. Trump said he was meeting with military officials Wednesday morning amid announcements of an end to Operation Epic Fury before the 60-day Authorization of Military Force deadline this week.
Trump also announced a pause to “Project Freedom,” a mission he had announced two days earlier to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote Tuesday night on Truth Social.
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Trump has previously said he would be open to traveling to Pakistan to sign a formal agreement, citing the role of Pakistani defense chief Asim Munir in helping bring the two sides together.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, when he also delivered a White House daily press briefing, standing in for press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave.
“They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they’re going,” Rubio told reporters, adding that it is difficult to get a full read on Iran’s scattered and in-hiding leadership because some of the leftover regime hardliners are “insane in the brain.”
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Trump declined to define what would lead to renewed military operations against Iran, saying Tuesday, “They know what not to do.”
Iran’s president has said that surrender to “unilateral demands” is “impossible,” but Esmail Baghaei Hamaneh, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Iranian news Wednesday that some unspecified leaders are “considering the U.S. proposal” for peace.
“The U.S. proposal is still being considered by Iran, and after summarizing its points of view, Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side,” Hamaneh added, according to a translation.
As Iran’s foreign minister meets his counterpart in Beijing, Rubio warned that countries violating U.S. sanctions will face secondary penalties.
