Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has issued a series of rapid-fire messages regarding the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, making significant claims that his government has secured major concessions ahead of a potential next round of ceasefire talks.
Posted on Truth Social on Friday, Trump’s statements alleged that Iran had agreed to open — and “never close” — the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
He further alleged that Tehran would hand over its “nuclear dust” and that Israel would be “prohibited” from launching attacks in Lebanon.
Iran, for its part, has confirmed the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz for the “duration” of the current pause in fighting, which is slated to conclude early next week unless a new agreement is reached. However, Tehran has not officially responded to many of Trump’s more far-reaching and unsubstantiated claims.
Despite the numerous outstanding questions and lack of confirmation, the US president adopted a celebratory tone, declaring Friday “A GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!”
Separately, he informed Bloomberg News that he anticipated talks to progress on Sunday, with a permanent ceasefire deal reportedly in sight.
“We’re not seeing the full picture,” Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera, highlighting Trump’s known penchant for hyperbole and the several unresolved issues that remain.
“But this does suggest a positive momentum towards something that may end up being a comprehensive deal,” Sayigh conceded.
Sayigh also suggested that Trump might have ulterior motives for striking such an upbeat tone, particularly at a time when the chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz has been driving up prices for essential goods from fuel to fertilizer.
“It is very interesting that President Trump is putting such a positive spin on things, not only to encourage markets and talk down oil prices and talk stock market prices up,” Sayigh observed.
“But also, I suspect, because he’s preparing the ground for more revelations about what is being negotiated with Iran.”
Trump says Iran will ‘never close’ Strait of Hormuz
While some of Trump’s social media claims appeared to find partial confirmation in a separate statement from Tehran, a closer look at the details revealed a significant divergence between Trump’s assertions and Iran’s actual position.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, announced on Friday that, in light of a 10-day pause in fighting in Lebanon, “the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”
Trump swiftly echoed this claim on social media, proclaiming that the strait is “FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE.”
However, a senior Iranian military official clarified to state media that only non-military vessels would be permitted to transit the strait — and then, only with explicit permission from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, underscoring Iran’s continued sovereign control.
Subsequently, Trump escalated his claims regarding free maritime traffic, stating, “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alexandru Hudisteanu, a maritime security expert, emphasized that there has been no confirmation from Iran that such a long-term, unequivocal pledge has been made.
“We know, for instance, that over the last six weeks or so of the war, the Iranian leadership grasped the fact that its control over the Strait of Hormuz gave it the kind of deterrence that its nuclear programme, its ballistic missiles, its regional proxies, had never actually given it,” Hudisteanu explained.
“So I don’t think that the Iranian leadership would have made this kind of commitment unequivocally and irrevocably,” he concluded, highlighting Iran’s strategic leverage.
Lingering questions also surrounded another post by Trump concerning the US decision to blockade the strait.
Trump declared that the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf “WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE.”
Yet, media reports from the region indicate that Iran might indeed close traffic in the Hormuz Strait if such an aggressive blockade were to remain in effect, signaling a clear red line for Tehran.
Iran’s Fars News Agency, which is closely aligned with the IRGC, reported that Tehran considers the continuation of the US blockade a direct violation of the current ceasefire and would consequently close the strait again if the blockade was not lifted.
Further questions arose regarding mines in the strait. On Truth Social, Trump also asserted that “Iran, with the help of the U.S.A., has removed, or is removing, all sea mines!”
However, Reuters reported that a US navy advisory on Friday stated the “status of TSS mine threat is not fully understood. Consider avoidance of that area.” This statement referred to the Traffic Separation Scheme, the crucial two-way shipping lane in the strait, directly contradicting Trump’s assurance.
Trump says US will get all nuclear ‘dust’
A major sticking point in the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran has consistently been the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. While Iran has steadfastly denied seeking a nuclear weapon, the US and Israel have claimed their initial attacks in the war, on February 28, were designed to prevent Iran from constructing one.
On Friday, Trump again appeared to claim that Iran would surrender its enriched uranium stockpile, writing on Truth Social that “the U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust’.”
The term “dust” appears to be a reference to the US decision to bomb three key nuclear sites in Iran on June 22, 2025. Trump has repeatedly claimed that those attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, despite a significant body of conflicting evidence.
On Friday, following his post, Trump elaborated to Reuters that the US would work with Iran “at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery” to retrieve the uranium stockpile at the sites.
“We’ll bring it back to the United States,” he added, further telling Bloomberg that Iran had agreed to suspend its nuclear programme indefinitely.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem stated unequivocally that there has been no confirmation from Iranian officials regarding such an agreement.
“This is a big claim here, because the Iranians have always said that they’re not going to accept such a condition,” Hashem explained. “What we’ve heard from our sources is that the issue of enrichment and the sunsets of any conditions is going to be left till the end of the talks.”
Trump also maintained that “no money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” another significant claim that has not been corroborated by Iran.
Hashem added that the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, the lifting of US sanctions, and reparations for war damages have been key priorities for Tehran. He believes Iran will strategically leverage issues like the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to extract these crucial concessions.
“What’s the price for this?” Hashem questioned. “And what are the Iranians going to take in return? These are big questions that remain unanswered.”
Trump says Israel ‘prohibited’ from bombing Lebanon
Another issue that has repeatedly threatened to derail the ceasefire talks was Israel’s ongoing and devastating bombing campaign in Lebanon. Iran and mediators in Pakistan had consistently maintained that Lebanon was part of the initial ceasefire agreement, a point denied by the US and Israel.
However, on Thursday, a breakthrough was announced: Israel had agreed to a 10-day pause in its invasion and bombardment of Lebanon.
On Friday, Trump seemed to imply that this stoppage was intended to continue into the long term, beyond the initial 10 days.
“Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer,” he wrote emphatically. “They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!”
He further added that Washington would work with Lebanon and “deal with the Hezboolah [sic] situation in an appropriate manner,” suggesting a direct US intervention in a sensitive regional issue.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher noted that this statement represents a particularly hard US line on Israel, but it remains to be seen if Trump would indeed seek to punish Israel should they fail to comply.
“That’s not what the United States tends to do,” Fisher observed, referencing historical US diplomatic patterns.
“Is Donald Trump actually going to change the norms of American politics when it comes to dealing with the Israelis and treat them like he’s treated other countries in the past, and effectively cut them off?” Fisher pondered, highlighting the potential shift in US foreign policy.
Trump thanks regional countries, takes shot at NATO
While Trump’s posts on Friday were largely celebratory, he also distributed both criticism and praise to various parties involved in the ceasefire negotiations.
Trump extended his thanks to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar for their “great bravery and help.” He also commended Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, who played crucial roles in coordinating US-Iran contacts, calling them “two fantastic people.”
However, Trump notably took aim at NATO, an alliance he has frequently criticized for what he perceives as a lack of support for the US and Israeli war against Iran, as well as subsequent efforts to re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL,” Trump wrote, dismissing the alliance. “They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!”
The Trump administration has previously signaled its consideration of a withdrawal from NATO, although such a significant move would require congressional approval.
Despite Trump’s most recent statements, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that European allies had agreed to accelerate military planning for a multinational force specifically to secure the waterway during a summit in Paris on Friday, indicating a divergence in international strategy.
#USIranTalks #StraitOfHormuz #TrumpClaims #IranNuclearDeal #MiddleEastPeace #CeasefireNegotiations #IranSovereignty #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #LebanonCeasefire