On May 23, President Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that a peace agreement with Iran had been “largely negotiated.” Within 24 hours, Iranian officials were calling that claim a lie.
Washington is trying to sell a pause in its war as a diplomatic breakthrough.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said May 25 that no nuclear commitments or uranium handover agreements exist in any draft agreement with the U.S. — and that none will. Fars News Agency said Trump’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz would return to its prewar status “does not reflect reality.” According to Fars, the latest draft exchanged between the two sides would keep the strait under Iranian management. Tasnim reported that the draft would restore only the number of ships moving through Hormuz, not the prewar status of the strait.
Trump says a deal is close. Tehran says no such deal exists. That is the real story of the negotiations.
Iran says no agreement exists unless Washington accepts the basic terms: Iranian control over Hormuz, release of frozen assets, no dismantling of Iran’s civilian nuclear program and a ceasefire that includes Lebanon.
Tasnim News Agency reported that Washington is blocking the deal’s key clauses. Iran told Pakistan, the mediator, that continued U.S. obstruction would make an agreement impossible.
Reporter Ali Hashem cited an Iranian source who said Washington had backed away on two points: releasing Iran’s frozen assets and applying the ceasefire to Lebanon.
Israel wants language that would let it keep attacking Lebanon whenever it claims a “threat.” Iran rejected that formulation. Tehran is demanding a sustainable ceasefire, not a loophole that lets Israel keep bombing while Washington calls it peace.
Iran also rejected Pakistan’s suggestion to move ahead on agreed language while postponing the disputed clauses. Tehran’s position is simple: the disputed clauses are not side issues. They are the agreement. Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
The frozen assets question shows what is really blocking the talks. Iran is demanding access to its own money — funds seized or blocked by U.S. sanctions. Tasnim reported that Iran will not sign even a preliminary memorandum on promises alone. The U.S. must first release part of Iran’s frozen money and give Iran real access to it.
Trump cannot simply release most of Iran’s frozen money. U.S. sanctions law was built to keep that money blocked unless Iran accepts Washington’s political demands. In practice, that means cutting support for Hezbollah and Palestinian resistance organizations while accepting U.S. demands to dismantle Iran’s independent civilian nuclear program.
Iran has not agreed to those conditions and is not going to. What Trump can release without Congress is only a fraction of what Iran is demanding.
Trump could offer sanctions waivers, but waivers can be revoked. Iran already saw Washington tear up the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. It has no reason to trust another U.S. promise that Trump, Congress or the next president can revoke.
Republican senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Roger Wicker of Mississippi condemned the reported framework, with Wicker calling a rumored 60-day ceasefire “a disaster.” Democrats joined in. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said Trump was “being played as a fool,” while Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called the emerging deal “a blunder.”
When Cruz and Booker are reading from the same script, the message is clear. Washington is not preparing to accept any agreement that leaves Iran unconquered.
The timing of the ceasefire talk also points to a pause, not a settlement. Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, runs through May 30. Saudi Arabia asked Trump to delay renewed strikes until after the pilgrimage season. It did not ask Washington to end the war. It asked for the war to be paused around Hajj. That is not peace. It is war managed around the needs of a key U.S. ally.
Tanker traffic exiting the Gulf has increased, but it remains far below prewar levels. The U.S. naval blockade remains in place. Tasnim reported that if the blockade is not lifted within 30 days, there will be no change in the status of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran still controls transit through the strait. No memorandum of understanding has been signed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on May 23 that Iran would never abandon Hezbollah and that any agreement must include a Lebanon ceasefire.
Iran is not the obstacle to peace. It is Washington’s refusal to accept that bombing, blockade and sanctions have not forced Iran to surrender.
The U.S. wants to call this pause a peace agreement. Iran is making the record clear: Washington has not won the war, and it has not made peace.
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