President Donald Trump blasted Iran on Friday for leaking details of a deal to end the war that he claimed were fabricated.
His angry attack came less than a day after saying he had called off strikes and an agreement was near.
It was the latest in a series of mixed messages coming from the president and top officials as Trump pushes to wrap up the war he started more than three months ago.
“The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth.”
The president went on to blast the Iranians as “very dishonorable people to deal with” and wrote, “With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING!”
The president included at the end that an attempted drone strike by Iran against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz is “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
It was unclear whether the president’s furious post would affect talks to finalize an agreement. A senior Trump administration official told The Daily Beast on Friday that Iran has agreed to multiple points as part of a “performance-based” deal.
The provisions include Iran agreeing to destroy and remove all nuclear material and to dismantle its nuclear program. It stipulates that none of its money will be released until it performs. It also includes Iran agreeing to no funding for terrorist groups and the Strait of Hormuz would be open.
Late on Thursday, Trump announced that the U.S. had “ended the war with Iran today” and claimed that both sides had agreed to a “very strong memorandum of understanding” during a telerally. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office earlier, he called it a “great settlement.”
In a Truth Social post, he revealed he was calling off the strikes after discussions with Iran and claimed that “final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” though it was short of being “finalized.”
But a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry told Iranian media at the same time that Tehran had not made a final decision. On Friday, the Iranian state news agency IRNA shared what it claimed were the contents of the draft agreement.
The report from Iran stated that it would not make any new commitments regarding nuclear capabilities and that this would be discussed during a 60-day negotiation period. The removal of all sanctions would also be addressed within that 60-day period.
It also claimed $300 billion for reconstruction, the release of $24 billion in frozen funds, and indicated that the Strait of Hormuz would be regionally managed, without implying a return to its prewar status.
Similar accounts of the memorandum that appeared to favor Iran were also provided to Reuters by Western sources and by the mediator, Pakistan. But they emphasized that the text had not been finalized, according to the report.
