U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he was close to an agreement with Iran on core issues including abandoning nuclear weapons. Trump delayed strikes on Iran's key energy facilities by five days and even proposed a joint management plan for the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global oil chokepoint. However, Iran's top leadership flatly denied the U.S. claim.
On the 23rd (local time), according to a compilation of major outlets including the AP and the BBC, Trump met reporters at Palm Beach Airport in Florida and said, "We had a very strong conversation," adding, "We found common ground on almost every issue."
Originally, Trump gave Iran 48 hours as a deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, but on grounds of progress in talks that day, he postponed an attack on Iran's power plants by five days. Trump said this round of negotiations was led directly over the weekend by Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner in meetings with Iran's leadership. "We are scheduled to consult by phone today," he said, adding, "They (Iran) want peace," and "They agreed not to have nuclear weapons."
If a deal is reached, a plan for the United States to directly retrieve enriched uranium inside Iran also made it onto the table. At the scene, Trump said, "When we finish the agreement, we will go and take it ourselves," adding, "I cannot guarantee it completely, but this agreement would be the biggest transaction of my life."
Regarding control over the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered a logistics paralysis, Trump proposed a bold joint control plan, saying, "Perhaps the next ayatollah (Iran's supreme leader) and I could manage it together."
In fact, that day the United States, along with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states and 22 countries including Korea and Japan, built a multinational security coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz, raising the possibility of jointly controlling the waterway. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a Fox News interview that day, "This group of 22 countries is working with the United States to draw up plans to deploy military personnel," adding, "We intend to carry out operations as soon as the time is ripe to secure the opening of the strait and freedom of navigation."
However, Iran's leadership strongly pushed back against the claim that "Iran will soon reach an agreement with the United States" immediately after Trump's remarks. Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on social media, "We have not conducted any negotiations with the United States," criticizing, "Fake news is intended to manipulate the financial and oil markets."
Speaker Ghalibaf is currently the de facto No. 1 leading Iran, having served as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general and mayor of the capital, Tehran. He is known as the closest aide to Mojtaba, who was chosen as the supreme leader after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's semi-official Tasnim News also played down Trump's remarks as psychological warfare, saying, "We will continue to defend until we achieve military deterrence."
As expectations for dialogue spread, the global financial markets, which had been volatile since the outbreak of war, reacted immediately that day. Soaring international oil prices plunged below $100 per Barrel. The three major indexes on the New York stock market also all moved higher.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while saying he had spoken with President Trump by phone, said, "We will not halt military operations targeting the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran." The Israel Defense Forces continued airstrikes that day on facilities including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) security headquarters in Tehran.