Trump says Iran deal may come during World Cup and G7 birthday weekend
Trump said a U.S.-Iran agreement could arrive within days, even as Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil remains above $90.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
4 min read
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. and Iran could reach an agreement within days to create a path toward ending their three-month war, the Associated Press reported. The claim matters for energy markets because Iran continues to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, while Fortune reported oil remained above $90 a barrel.
Trump said he planned to send Vice President JD Vance to the signing if the agreement comes together, according to the AP. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, through a spokesperson on state television, said mediators were still working but no deal had been completed.
The timing gives Trump a packed stretch of diplomacy, sports and politics. The AP reported that the World Cup returns to the United States on Friday for the first time in 32 years, after Trump worked during his first term to help win the bid for the U.S. to co-host the tournament.
On Sunday, Trump turns 80 and is set to be honored during a UFC event expected to bring thousands of people to the White House grounds, according to the AP. He is then scheduled to travel to a Group of Seven summit in the French Alps, where the war and trade disputes are expected to be central topics.
Trump points to pressure campaign
Trump offered few specifics about the possible agreement, the AP reported. He described it as “very strong” while also saying it remained “a little conceptual,” and said it would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump told reporters he believed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was prepared to approve the agreement, according to the AP. The AP reported that Khamenei is believed to have been wounded on the first day of the war and has not appeared publicly since.
The president tied his optimism to the damage Iran has suffered. “They’ve taken a pounding like very few people could take,” Trump said in the Oval Office, according to the AP. “And they want to make the deal a lot more than I do.”
The AP reported that Trump had threatened to intensify U.S. attacks on Iran and seize parts of its oil industry, including the Kharg Island oil facility. Those threats followed new U.S.-Iran strikes that left an early April temporary ceasefire largely ineffective, according to the AP.
Hormuz remains the key economic pressure point
The Strait of Hormuz remains a major obstacle to Trump’s claims of victory, the AP reported. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil supply moved through the waterway, and Iran’s closure has strained global energy markets.
Trump said Thursday that the waterway would reopen once a deal is signed. “The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon — maybe over the weekend in Europe,” Trump said, according to the AP.
Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, told the AP that Trump’s threats appeared aimed partly at showing hawkish supporters he was willing to take a harder line while also creating room for a deal. Vaez said mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar had been making progress with Iran as Trump posted about possible escalation.
Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican and former House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, told the AP that Trump had grown impatient with Iran. McCaul said he believed renewed threats against Kharg Island and Iran’s energy sector were meant to push negotiations back to the “right place.”
The AP reported that polls show the conflict is broadly unpopular with Americans. McCaul told the AP he believed Iran may try to extend the conflict closer to the November midterm elections because Tehran sees political benefit in doing so.
At the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, Trump will meet leaders he has criticized over their reluctance to support the U.S. and Israeli war effort, according to the AP. The AP reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have also faulted Trump’s handling of the war and his limited consultation with allies.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.