Trump says Europe sign-off possible in Iran peace deal
2026-06-12
Prospect of signing
US President Donald Trump said on the 11th that, in talks to end fighting with Iran, an agreement document could be signed in Europe as soon as the weekend. Iran, however, says 'nothing has been concluded yet', highlighting a continued gap in the two sides' perceptions.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said 'it should be settled in a few days'. Asked about approval from Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, he said 'I understand that to be the case'. He also said US Vice President Vance and others were expected to attend the signing ceremony.
Trump posted on social media that 'the time and place of the signing will be announced soon'. He also claimed Middle Eastern countries had approved the draft document, including Israel, which led the attack on Iran.
Negotiation outlook
In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei said 'nothing has been concluded yet', according to local media, and stressed that 'red lines will not be compromised'.
Qatar played a central role as mediator. The backdrop is Iran's frozen assets. In 2023, the United States and Iran moved about $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen in South Korea to a bank in Qatar as part of a prisoner exchange.
In late May, Iranian parliament speaker Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Araghchi visited Qatar and are said to have discussed, among other issues, the release of frozen assets. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East and has close ties with Washington, while also serving as a mediator in peace talks between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas.
Handling of highly enriched uranium
The United States and Iran are negotiating over a plan to end fighting aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and advancing talks on the nuclear issue. When the sides came close to an agreement at the end of May, Trump asked for last-minute revisions to add wording on the disposal of Iran's highly enriched uranium, which Iran rejected.
That appears to have reflected consideration for Israel and hardliners within Trump's Republican Party who are pressing for Iran to abandon its enriched uranium. In remarks to reporters on the 11th, Trump stopped short of touching on the handling of highly enriched uranium, saying only that 'Iran will agree never to have nuclear weapons'. He did not say how far he would continue to press his earlier revision demands.
Meanwhile, Fars News Agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, reported that the United States accepted the contents of the draft agreement proposed by Iran. It also said a document based on the Iranian proposal could be approved.
The Israeli prime minister's office said Prime Minister Netanyahu held a telephone call with Trump and obtained a promise that the final agreement would include the removal of enriched uranium, among other points.
Both the United States and Iran are stepping up messages that they have forced the other side to submit, in an effort to win domestic support. Trump had been hinting at renewed strikes on Iran right up until he said an agreement was near, and had stated that 'self-defence attacks' launched on the 9th and 10th in response to the crash of a US military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz would continue on the 11th as well.
In a phone interview with Fox News on the 11th, he said he would stop the attacks if Iran accepted the deal, and later withdrew the attacks after saying an agreement was near. Some see this as an attempt to suggest that Iran backed down under US military power.
Iran, in turn, criticised Trump, saying he was trying to create the impression that 'Iran caved to US pressure and made concessions'. Instead, Tehran is saying that the deal came closer after the United States withdrew its revision demands.
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