WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States and Iran could conclude a formal agreement within the next week to extend an interim ceasefire and restore unimpeded shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, expressing optimism about the diplomatic channel even as regional fighting continued and Tehran sent mixed signals.
In a telephone interview with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump characterized the back-channel talks as “looking good.” He acknowledged a temporary setback earlier in the day but said he had resolved it quickly. “There was a little glitch today, but I turned that one around very quickly,” he said. The disruption followed Iranian objections to expanded Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Trump said he contacted both sides directly, urging an immediate pause to protect the broader U.S.-Iran discussions.
The president framed a negotiated settlement as preferable to continued military pressure. “A peace agreement with Iran could be even better than a military victory,” he said. At the same time, he noted the deep mutual distrust built up over decades. Describing Iran as a significant regional power, he observed that domestic political constraints on both sides complicate any comprehensive arrangement. “It’s not an easy thing for them,” Trump said. “It’s actually not easy from our standpoint either. But we’re getting what we need to get.”
According to the president, negotiators are drafting a memorandum of understanding that would lift maritime restrictions in the Persian Gulf and guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. He suggested the document could be finished within seven days, though he conceded that several issues remain unresolved. “I still have to get a few more points,” he said, without specifying the outstanding demands. The timeline followed a period of turbulence on Monday, when Iranian officials indicated they were suspending talks in protest of Israeli operations in Lebanon. The announcement raised concerns among U.S. allies that the diplomatic opening might collapse.
Trump sought to counter those reports. In a social-media post, he stated that technical discussions were continuing at a “rapid pace.” Iranian officials did not immediately confirm that formal sessions had resumed. Parallel to the Hormuz talks, Trump said he had used personal diplomacy to manage fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border. He reported speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and securing a commitment that the Israel Defense Forces would not conduct ground operations into central Beirut. Through regional intermediaries, he said, Hezbollah had indicated it would stop rocket and drone attacks across the border in return for an end to targeted Israeli strikes on its senior commanders.
Observers cautioned that similar informal understandings between Israel and the Lebanese group have often broken down under the pressure of localized exchanges. The central focus of the current negotiations remains the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum supplies pass each day. Prolonged disruption or heightened insurance risk in the strait can raise energy prices, increase shipping costs, and introduce volatility into the global economy.
For the administration, restoring normal traffic would constitute a significant diplomatic achievement and reduce threats to supply chains. For Iran, any formal maritime understanding is linked to sanctions relief, assurances against foreign military intervention, and acknowledgment of its claimed jurisdiction in the region. While the White House has presented the coming week as a decisive window, analysts who follow defense and foreign-policy issues say the president’s schedule is still an aspirational goal rather than a completed plan. Given elevated tensions and long-standing institutional suspicion, the durability of any agreement will hinge on whether verbal understandings can be converted into enforceable commitments both at sea and on the ground.
The discussions occur against a backdrop of intermittent clashes that have already affected commercial shipping and raised the prospect of wider escalation. Previous attempts to stabilize the Persian Gulf have foundered when either side concluded that the other was not fully honoring interim arrangements. Trump’s public emphasis on speed and personal intervention reflects a calculation that high-level political engagement can overcome bureaucratic and military obstacles that have stalled earlier efforts. Whether that calculation holds will become clearer in the days ahead as negotiators attempt to close the remaining gaps and as commanders on the ground test the limits of the reported de-escalation measures.
