President Trump called a Friday Situation Room meeting to review the Iran agreement his negotiating team had struck, and emerged with a list of changes he wants made before signing off. The move prolongs what was expected to be an imminent deal and sets off another round of diplomatic haggling that administration officials say could stretch several days.
Trump signaled earlier Friday that he was inclined to accept the framework, but once he saw the final draft, he zeroed in on specifics he felt needed tightening. According to administration officials, his core concern centers on how the deal addresses Iran's nuclear material and the mechanics of its disposal.
The current agreement commits Iran to abandon nuclear weapons development but lacks granular details on uranium handling. It maps out a 60-day window for negotiating the specifics, with Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and limits on future enrichment as opening issues. Trump wants the deal rewritten to spell out precisely how the U.S. retrieves that material and on what timeline.
Trump also wants language revised around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical shipping channels.
A senior administration official told reporters after the meeting that Trump "will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his redlines and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon." The official added that the administration is willing to let the process stretch longer to get the terms right, estimating a response from Tehran could take roughly three days.
"There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we'll see. We're willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more," the official said. "At the turn of the week, we hope to have something."
The Iranian side hasn't finalized the text either, according to state media statements. Earlier in the week, U.S. officials had suggested Tehran was ready to ink a deal and the holdup was on Washington's end. That characterization shifted once Trump's revisions became known.
One administration official's comment about the communication lag offered a window into the friction: "They're literally in caves and they're not using email."
Iranian state media has claimed the agreement would free up billions in frozen Iranian assets, a characterization the White House disputes. The White House declined to comment further on the negotiations.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's last-minute rewrites risk stalling momentum, but he's signaling this deal matters enough to him to get the details right even if it costs time."
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