Iran Pours Cold Water on Imminent Deal, Says Nuclear Issue "Not on the Table"
Iran's Foreign Ministry says a deal signing "cannot be confirmed," the nuclear issue is off the table for now, and American policy "keeps changing." Tehran and Washington are publicly describing two different agreements.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman pushed back sharply Monday on optimistic American characterizations of the U.S.-Iran negotiations, warning that a signing timeline cannot be confirmed and flatly stating that Iran's nuclear program is not currently part of the talks.
"We have reached a framework agreement, but it is impossible to confirm that the signing of the agreement with the U.S. is imminent, because American policy keeps changing," spokesman Ismail Baghaei told Iranian media.
The statement lands directly against the grain of remarks by Trump, who wrote on Truth Social over the weekend that a final decision was expected within days, and a senior U.S. official who said Sunday that a signing was expected "in the coming days."
On the Strait of Hormuz, one of the deal's most economically consequential elements, Baghaei disputed the American account of what has been agreed. "There are no details in the agreement about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz," he said, adding that the waterway's status "will be determined by the states that share it" - a formulation that reasserts Iranian claims over the strait that Washington has explicitly rejected.
On the nuclear file, Baghaei was unambiguous: "At this stage, we are focused on stopping the aggression against our country. The discussion of the Iranian nuclear issue is not on the agenda at this stage of the talks."
That position contradicts the framework described by U.S. officials, who have said the MOU includes Iranian commitments never to pursue nuclear weapons and verbal assurances about the eventual disposal of enriched uranium stockpiles, commitments Iran now appears to be publicly walking back or reframing as future-stage issues only.
Baghaei closed with a warning against any resumption of hostilities. "We don't care about threats. We are focused on securing our interests. Any hostile action against Iran will be met with an inevitable response. A country that successfully withstood two nuclear states for 40 days is capable of securing its rights."
The remarks deepen the picture of a negotiation in which Washington and Tehran are not only disagreeing on substance but publicly describing different versions of what has already been agreed, a dynamic that has characterized the talks for weeks and shows no sign of resolving ahead of a potential signing.