‘Iran intent on making deal’: Trump says nobody will control Hormuz, it's international waters

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 27) said Iran appeared determined to reach an agreement with Washington as negotiations continued over ending the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, while also warning that military action remained an option if talks failed.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said discussions with Tehran were continuing but stressed that the United States was still not fully satisfied with the progress made so far.

“So far, they haven't gotten there; we're not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said. “We will be. Either that or we'll have to just finish the job. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, everything's gone.”

The US president also claimed that Iran was eager to finalise an agreement. “Iran is intent on making a deal. We are not content. If we don't make a deal, we may have to go back and finish the job,” Trump said.

He added, “Looks like Iran wants to make a deal; they don't have a choice.”

Turning to Hormuz, the US President said, “Nobody is going to control it, it’s an international water,” while adding that “Iran will have to behave like everybody else.” Trump also said fuel, gas and oil prices would come down once a deal is reached.

Trump also praised his envoys involved in the negotiations, saying, “Witkoff, Kushner are doing a good job. We are getting great support from other countries, but we don't need that.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also indicated that there had been movement in the talks and said Washington still preferred a diplomatic solution. “Made some progress on Iran, we'll see in the next few hours or days as to whether more progress will be made,” he said.

Also Read: US to pull back forces from Iran’s vicinity, lift naval blockade, claims Iran’s state media

“We'd prefer the negotiated diplomatic route,” Rubio said, adding, “We’ll see over the next hours and days.”

The remarks came hours after the White House strongly denied an Iranian state television report claiming that a draft framework agreement had been reached between Tehran and Washington.

The Iranian report said that the proposed memorandum of understanding included a US commitment to lift the naval blockade on Iran and withdraw American forces from the Gulf region.

Reacting to the report, the White House dismissed the claims as false.

“This report from Iranian-controlled media is not true, and the MOU they 'released' is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what the Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER,” the White House said in a post on X.

(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)