Thursday, May 28, 2026 - President Donald Trump indicated that progress in talks with Iran has slowed,
departing from his assertion at the start of the week that an agreement to end
the war was nearly finalized.
Speaking during a Wednesday cabinet meeting at the White
House alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth, Trump noted that while Iran “wants to make a deal,” the US is “not
satisfied” yet with what it is seeing, threatening that the US will “have to
just finish the job” if talks fizzle out.
The conflict, which erupted on February 28 following massive
US-Israeli strikes over Tehran's nuclear program, has been under a fragile
ceasefire since April 8. While Trump declared on Saturday that an agreement was
“largely negotiated,” diplomacy has stalled over regional normalization
demands, control of global energy corridors, and the lifting of economic
blockades.
The president suggested he may not sign a ceasefire deal
with Iran if neighboring Gulf countries do not normalize ties with Israel under
the Abraham Accords.
“I’m not sure we should make the deal if they don’t… join
the Abraham Accords,” Trump said, referring to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and
others, insisting they “owe it” to the US after Washington launched the war
against Iran.
Trump first linked the Iran talks to the Abraham Accords on
Sunday. However, Saudi officials quickly reiterated that Riyadh will only
normalize ties with Israel if there is an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian
state, a condition Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reject. When
pressed on Wednesday if he would explicitly make the Iran deal contingent on
these normalizations, Trump stepped back, replying, “I’m not going to [tell]
you what’s contingent, and what’s not.”
The cabinet meeting came shortly after the White House
blasted an Iranian state media report as a "complete fabrication."
The Iranian report claimed a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committed
the US to lifting its naval blockade, imposed on Iranian coasts since April 13,
and withdrawing troops from the region. In exchange, the draft alleged Iran
would gradually reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz over a
month while maintaining rights to inspect vessels and impose service fees.
Trump explicitly rejected those terms on Wednesday,
insisting that the strategic waterway must open completely and without delay.
"No, the strait is going to be open to everybody… It’s
international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over
it," Trump said, adding that "one of the things that will happen is
the strait will open immediately."
Trump also issued a harsh warning to Oman, a traditional
backer of regional mediation, regarding control of the waters: “Oman will
behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow them up. They understand
that, and they’ll be fine.”
Despite the slowdown, US officials maintain that a
diplomatic resolution remains the priority, though they have not ruled out a
return to active hostilities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that "some
progress" has been made, adding, "We’ll see over the next few hours
and days whether progress could be made." Rubio reiterated that the
administration prefers a diplomatic path to prevent Iran from obtaining a
nuclear weapon, but warned that Washington has "other options
available."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attributed Tehran's presence
at the negotiating table to military weakness following the joint US-Israeli
offensive. "They may have missiles, but they can’t build more right
now," Hegseth said, touting the ongoing naval blockade. "No Iranian
tanker around the globe is safe... choking off their economic lifeblood."
Trump refused to confirm whether the current framework
defers long-term talks on Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles to a subsequent
negotiation. He concluded by stating, "We can make a good deal right now,
but maybe not a great deal," reiterating that he intends to hold out for
the latter.
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