Trump says US strikes reshaped Iran’s leadership and sped up nuclear talks
Claims a new, more ‘rational’ team in Tehran is close to striking a deal with Washington
A potential breakthrough in the months-long US-Iran conflict emerged as US President said he had cancelled planned military strikes and suggested a deal with Tehran was close. Markets rallied on the news, but Iranian officials stopped short of confirming an agreement, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the talks. As diplomatic efforts intensify and regional tensions remain high, stay with our live coverage for key updates from across the Gulf and beyond:
Egypt urged the United States and Iran to seize what it called an "available opportunity" for a deal to end the war, after President Donald Trump withdrew his threat to carry out further strikes on Tehran.
Cairo's foreign ministry said in a statement late Thursday it hoped "the available opportunity will be seized to reach a deal on the various outstanding issues and to prepare the atmosphere for reaching an end to the war and beginning a new phase of regional stability".
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has stated that US President Donald Trump gave assurances that any final accord between Washington and Tehran would obligate Iran to surrender its accumulated enriched nuclear stockpile. The reported understanding would also enforce constraints on the nuclear and missile development programmes of Tehran.
In a social media statement published on X following a dialogue between the two leaders on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister's office noted, "Although Israel is not party to the memorandum of understanding, the prime minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump's commitment that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations will include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran's support for its terrorist proxies in the region."
US President Donald Trump said recent US military action had transformed Iran's leadership and made Tehran more willing to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Washington.
Speaking at the White House, Trump claimed military pressure had altered Iran's political landscape, describing the current leadership as more pragmatic than those who previously held power.
"It's a regime change, because I find these people to be much more rational than the people that are no longer with us," Trump said.
He expressed confidence that the US and Iran were close to reaching an agreement that would permanently prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
According to Trump, the leadership now involved in talks is different from the officials who previously shaped Iran's policies.
"We knocked out the first team of leadership, the second team of leadership," he said, adding that a "smarter" and more reasonable group had emerged.
Trump said the new leadership had approved the framework of a deal and was committed to finalising it. "They've all approved the deal. Everybody's approved the deal," he said.
The President argued that recent military operations had increased Iran's willingness to negotiate. "They've taken a pounding. They want to make the deal a lot more than I do," Trump said.
He also claimed Iran's military capabilities had been severely weakened during the conflict, saying its navy, air force and air defence systems had been largely destroyed. Despite this, Trump said the current leadership was prepared to engage constructively with the United States.
"We found them to be rational and they're going to make a deal," he said. Trump reiterated that the main objective of the negotiations was to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.
US President Donald Trump predicted a sharp decline in global oil prices if a proposed agreement with Iran is finalised, arguing that greater stability in the Middle East and the reopening of key shipping routes would ease pressure on energy markets.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said markets had already responded positively to news of the emerging agreement.
"Stock markets up 1000 points," Trump said. "That means they like the deal."
He said oil prices had already begun moving lower and suggested further declines could follow once the agreement is signed.
"Oil's dropped," Trump said. "Oil will start coming down too, I think even lower than it was before."
The President linked falling energy prices to broader economic benefits.
"When oil comes down, everything else comes down," he said.
Trump said a key component of the proposed arrangement with Iran would be the reopening of maritime routes in the Gulf region.
"The Strait will open as soon as we have it signed," he said.
US President Donald Trump claimed the United States had secretly conducted military operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, moving ships and oil cargoes through the strategic waterway while targeting Iranian maritime assets ahead of a proposed agreement with Tehran.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the operations had taken place largely out of public view and helped maintain the flow of global energy supplies despite heightened tensions in the Gulf.
"The Strait will open as soon as we have it signed," Trump said, referring to a proposed agreement with Iran. "Maybe it'll be Saturday or Monday."
He then asserted that US forces had already been operating extensively in the area.
"The Straits have been open for a number of months already, and you just didn't know about it," Trump told reporters. "We brought many, many ships across and millions, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil were brought across, and there wasn't a thing that anybody could have done about that."
Trump claimed US military forces had conducted repeated operations against Iranian vessels during the past month.
"Over the last month, we've been taking out ships," he said. "Some nights, 25 ships, some nights, 15."
He said the operations were carried out at night and targeted radar systems and maritime assets.
"We bombed their radar and everything so they couldn't see what was going on," Trump said.
The President argued that these actions helped explain why global oil markets had remained relatively stable despite fears of disruption in one of the world's most important energy corridors.
"That's why oil, even before this, the market couldn't understand why it was so free," he said.
Japan's Nikkei share index soared more than four percent Friday after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of further strikes against Iran and said a deal to end the war could be signed in coming days.
At around 0030 GMT the Nikkei 225 was up 3.91 percent, after briefly jumping above four percent, while South Korea's benchmark Kospi index surged 7.80 percent.
Trump's announcement fuelled a rally on Wall Street on Thursday and oil prices tumbled, although Iran's position was unclear, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying Tehran "had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement".
Claiming that talks with Iran had been "brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved," Trump said he had "cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening."
"Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Donald Trump, expressing appreciation for the emerging US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
Netanyahu welcomed Trump's commitment that the final agreement will include the removal of enriched material, limits on missile production, dismantling of Iran's enrichment infrastructure, and an end to Tehran's support for regional "terrorist proxies".
In a post on X, the official account of the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel shared, "President Trump spoke this evening with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the emerging memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran to enter into negotiations."
"Even though Israel is not a party to the memorandum of understanding, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for President Trump's commitment that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations will include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran's support for its terrorist proxies in the region," the post read.
Despite US President Donald Trump's optimism, Iranian officials have publicly pushed back on claims that a final agreement has been "approved". Sources in Tehran told Axios that key issues remain unresolved and that Iran's leadership has not yet given final authorisation to any memorandum of understanding with Washington.
This means the announcement remains largely a US claim until formally endorsed by Iran.
According to Trump and US officials cited in recent reports, the emerging framework would include:
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
Extension of the current ceasefire.
New negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Guarantees of unrestricted maritime traffic through the waterway.
Broader regional coordination involving Gulf states and other Middle Eastern leaders.
Trump said he had spoken with leaders from Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Turkey as part of the diplomatic effort.
Robert Satloff, executive director of the U.S.-based think tank The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, suggested that the “deal” President Donald Trump has repeatedly referenced may not be a sweeping peace agreement but rather a more limited arrangement centered on extending the current ceasefire. Speaking during a Washington Institute discussion on the US-Iran crisis, Satloff indicated that the most realistic near-term outcome could be a continuation of the truce while negotiations continue on broader issues such as Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Satloff said: "'Unconditional surrender', as the president proclaimed, is not on the table. Regime change is not on the table. We're talking about much, much less than what the President said at various points earlier in the conflict... Missiles, unlikely; proxies, unlikely. At most, what we're really talking about is an extension of the ceasefire, to allow for something else to happen, maybe talks about nuclear issues."
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz would reopen once what he described as a “great settlement” with Iran is signed, possibly as early as this weekend in Europe. Trump said the proposed agreement would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and would end the latest phase of the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. "
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a "great settlement" with Iran to end the Middle East war, saying he expected a deal to be signed in Europe in the coming days.
"We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying that they would "subject to finalisation of documents, which should get done, over the next few days, probably have a signing, maybe in Europe."
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