President Trump says that an agreement with Iran is “getting very close,” while also estimating the chances of a “good” deal or a resumption of war at “50-50.” An agreement between the United States and Iran is “getting very close,” said Donald Trump on Saturday, May 23 to CBS News, while Tehran is also sending positive signals regarding discussions on ending the war.
“Every day, it’s getting better,” declared the American president over the phone to the American news channel.
At the same time, Donald Trump told Axios that the chances of a “good” deal or a resumption of war are “50-50.” “I think there are two possibilities: either I hit them harder than they’ve ever been hit, or we will sign a good deal,” said the American president.
For several weeks, Donald Trump has been alternating between threats and optimism on the issue of ending the war with Iran.
He will meet with his team of negotiators on Saturday to discuss Tehran’s latest offer and is expected to decide by Sunday whether to resume hostilities or not, according to Axios.
“Finalization phase” of an agreement protocol
The spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier announced that the country was in a “finalization phase” of a 14-point agreement protocol with the United States to permanently end the war, while noting that some differences still remained.
Esmaeil Baghaei detailed that this agreement protocol aims to end the war, American aggression, and what they call the naval blockade. The issue of freezing Iranian assets is among the main points to be addressed.
Iranian nuclear issue put aside for now
“In general, this agreement protocol aims to end the war, American aggression, and what they themselves call the naval blockade. The issue of freezing Iranian assets is among the main points to be addressed,” he outlined.
Esmaeil Baghaei also added that Iran’s long-standing request for an easing of sanctions against Tehran is included in the text.
“While we will not discuss the nuclear issue at this stage, we know that our nuclear dossier has been used as a pretext for two wars of aggression against the Iranian people,” he declared.
He also stated that the lifting of the blockade imposed on its ports by the United States and the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway controlled by Iran where a fifth of the world’s consumed hydrocarbons used to pass through before the conflict, are part of the negotiation framework.
Towards a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz?
“The Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with the United States. A mechanism for the strait should be defined between Iran and Oman as coastal states,” he added.
Regarding Lebanon, where the pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah is fighting Israel, he indicated that his country is prioritizing “the end of war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
/2026/05/23/6a11d9be5a25a179095594.jpg "War in the Middle East: United States mentions a possible agreement with Iran as early as Saturday, Tehran says finalize end-of")
