June 12, 2026, 06:37June 12, 2026, 06:53
What’s new?
US President Donald Trump has once again promised an early framework agreement with Iran to end the war. “We just reached a great agreement in the war with Iran,” Trump claimed at the White House. The documents should be finalized shortly and perhaps signed in Europe as early as this weekend.
Donald Trump has announced an imminent deal with Iran – once again.Image: keystone
What does Iran say about this?
However, a prompt denial came from Iran: no text had been finalized so far, reported the Iranian news agency Fars, which is close to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, citing a source connected to the negotiating team. Senior Iranian politicians initially did not comment on Trump’s statements.
Didn’t Trump say that before?
But – the Republican had already claimed several times that an agreement on a deal with Iran was close. The US television channel CNN counted exactly 39 times. But the negotiations later repeatedly stalled. This time, when asked by reporters, Trump replied that, as he understood it, the Iranian head of state Moschtaba Khamenei had already agreed to a framework agreement.
A woman on the move in the Iranian capital Tehran.Image: keystone
What should Trump’s deal look like?
Trump says the agreement includes, among other things, an immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US naval blockade against Iranian ships and ports will remain in place until an agreement is finally reached, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The USA was reacting to the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.
Have there been further attacks in Iran?
No. Just hours earlier, the US President had canceled his new attacks on Iran that had been announced for Thursday evening. On Truth Social, he threatened that the US military would hit the country “very hard” and that in the not too distant future it would take over the island of Kharg, which is important for Iran’s oil industry. The US would gain “complete control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets, he announced.
Charg is located in the Persian Gulf and is of great strategic importance. The island is home to Iran’s most important oil port, through which almost all of the Islamic Republic’s oil exports are handled.
Trump justified calling off the attacks again on Truth Social with conversations that had reached the highest level of the Iranian leadership. Details were approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and other states. Trump did not give any details.
What are the backgrounds?
For weeks, representatives from Washington and Tehran have been negotiating a permanent end to the war that the USA and Israel began with their attacks on Iran at the end of February. A ceasefire has actually been in effect for a good two months, but since the ceasefire came into force there have been several exchanges of fire, most recently on Thursday night. Recently, the positions before a possible framework agreement were significantly different.
Fire in Tehran in March: The war in Iran has now been going on for months.Image: keystone
It is generally expected that such a framework agreement will lay the foundation for in-depth negotiations on the major points of contention. The central point of conflict is Iran’s nuclear program and the handling of the country’s highly enriched uranium, which the Israeli government fears could be used to build an atomic bomb. According to media reports, this issue could be discussed in greater depth within a 60-day period.
There are also disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for global trade in oil, gas and fertilizer, as well as the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran is also calling for the lifting of economic sanctions and the release of frozen assets abroad.
According to the Iranian Fars news agency, a framework agreement was largely completed about two weeks ago. However, military tensions, including Israel’s attacks on the Lebanese capital Beirut, caused negotiations to be put on hold for the time being, the agency reported. After successful mediation by the Gulf Emirate of Qatar, progress was made again on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Trump said at the White House that Vice President JD Vance could travel to Europe to potentially sign a deal this weekend. The Republican did not name an exact location or country. Trump said he wouldn’t be able to be there himself. He celebrates his 80th birthday this Sunday in Washington and then wants to fly to France for the G7 summit of the group of leading democratic economic powers. (dab/sda/dpa)