Trump vows Iran stronger strikes if no deal is reached

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war "may end and the Strait of Hormuz may be reopened if Tehran abides by what has been agreed."

"Assuming that Iran has agreed to abide by what has been agreed upon, which is a big assumption, the legendary saga of anger will indeed end, and an effective blockade  will allow the Strait of Hormuz to be opened to everyone, including Iran," he said  in a post on his platform Truth Social.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said today that Tehran is considering a U.S. proposal to end the war and will convey its response to Pakistan, which  is acting as a mediator, the Students' News Agency  quoted a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

On the other hand, Trump has promised Iran stronger strikes than it suffered during the war, if no agreement is reached that puts a final end to the conflict.

  "If we assume that Iran agrees to what has been agreed, and that's a big assumption, then the epic outrage, already legendary, will have come to an end," Trump wrote earlier on Truth Social. "If they don't agree, the bombing will begin, and unfortunately, will be at a much higher level and more intense than it was before."

 Still, it is still difficult to see what Trump really wants, having repeatedly stressed recently that he is not in a hurry on Iran and recently informed  Congress that the attack he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic on February 28 is effectively over.

U.S. optimistic that a memorandum of understanding with Iran is imminent to end the war

Axios quoted U.S. officials and sources familiar with the matter as saying the White House believes it is close to reaching an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed negotiations on the nuclear program.

The U.S. expects Iranian  responses on several key points over the next 48 hours,  the report said, noting that the two sides have not yet actually agreed on anything, but said this is the closest the parties have come to an agreement since the war began.

A Pakistani source involved in the peace  effort told Reuters on Wednesday that the United States and Iran are close to reaching a one-page memorandum to end the war between them, confirming a report published by Axios on the same subject. "We will finish this very soon. We are getting close to that."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country is leading the mediation effort, expressed hope that the "momentum" generated by the suspension of the military operation would pave the way for a long-term agreement, and in a  post on the X platform in Arabic and English, Sharif said, "I am grateful to President Donald Trump for his courageous leadership and timely announcement of the halt to the Freedom Project in the Strait of Hormuz."

Lifting sanctions and reopening the Strait of Hormuz

The deal, which includes other provisions, will include Iran's commitment to a temporary halt to uranium enrichment, the United States agreeing to lift its sanctions, lifting the freeze on billions of dollars worth of Iranian funds and lifting restrictions on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios said.

The one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding is being negotiated between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and a number of Iranian officials directly and through intermediaries, the report said.

He pointed out that the memorandum in its current form will announce the end of the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the strait, curb Iran's nuclear program and lift US sanctions.

Axios said, citing a U.S. official, that Iran's restrictions on navigation through the strait and the U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports will be gradually lifted over the 30-day period, and the official noted that U.S. forces would be able to reimpose the blockade or resume military operations if negotiations collapse.

Trump: We stopped the "Freedom Project"

Trump announced this morning that he would temporarily halt the escort of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing "significant progress" toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.

"We have agreed that while the blockade will remain in full force and in full effect, the Freedom Project will be suspended briefly to see if the agreement can be concluded and signed," Trump wrote on social media.

Just hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was briefing reporters on efforts to escort oil tankers stranded through the strait, while the U.S. military on Monday announced the destruction of a number of Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones.