President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran are on the verge of a nuclear agreement, telling multiple news outlets he expects a deal "in the next day or two" and that he may fly to Islamabad to finalize it himself.
The remarks, delivered across a series of phone interviews and social media posts, represent the most definitive public statement yet from the White House on the status of talks that began last weekend in Pakistan. Trump told Axios that Iran wants to make a deal. He told CBS News that Tehran has "agreed to everything." And he told Bloomberg the arrangement would carry no expiration date.
If the president's account holds, the agreement would mark a dramatic turn, not just in U.S.-Iran relations, but in the broader trajectory of a conflict that has reshaped energy markets, redrawn Middle Eastern alliances, and tested American military reach. It would also hand Trump a foreign-policy achievement that eluded every administration since Iran's nuclear program became a flashpoint decades ago.
Last weekend, Pakistan hosted a round of negotiations in Islamabad. The talks ran roughly 21 hours, stretching from Saturday into early Sunday, Breitbart News reported. They ended without an agreement.
Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, struck a firm tone as he departed the Pakistani capital.
"We leave here with a very simple proposal... our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it."
That "final and best offer" language signaled that Washington was done haggling. By Thursday, Trump appeared outside the White House and said Iran had "totally agreed" to give up its nuclear ambitions and that a deal was "very close." He added that he "would go to Pakistan" to finalize an agreement if needed.
Then came Friday's media blitz. Trump told Reuters that additional talks are still needed but confirmed he may travel to Pakistan if a deal is reached. The Wall Street Journal reported that another round of talks in Pakistan could take place as early as Monday, with the U.S. negotiating team on standby.
The scope of the reported deal, at least as Trump described it Friday, goes well beyond a traditional arms-control framework. He told CBS News that Iran has agreed to work with the United States to recover its stockpile of enriched uranium, and that the material would be transported out of the country.
Trump described the arrangement in blunt terms:
"Our people, together with the Iranians, are going to work together to go get it. We're going to get it together... and we'll bring it back to the United States."
Asked about the duration of any deal, Trump told Bloomberg it would be open-ended: "No years, unlimited." That stands in sharp contrast to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which included sunset clauses that critics, Trump chief among them, argued would eventually allow Iran to resume enrichment. Trump has long cast his withdrawal from that agreement as one of his signature accomplishments. In a prior national address, he said he was "honored to terminate the last administration's disastrous Iran nuclear deal."
In an interview reported by Fox News, Trump also ruled out exchanging money with Iran "in any way, shape or form." Axios, however, reported that one element under discussion involved a potential $20 billion arrangement tied to Iran surrendering its uranium stockpile. The White House did not reconcile those two data points publicly. It issued a statement Friday saying negotiations would not be conducted through media leaks.
The diplomatic push is unfolding against the backdrop of active U.S. military operations. Trump said in Truth Social posts Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to global shipping, that the U.S. naval blockade on Iran would remain in place until an agreement is finalized, and that the United States is working with Iran to remove sea mines from the waterway.
That blockade, and the broader campaign Trump has called Operation Epic Fury, has fundamentally altered the military balance in the region. In his earlier national address, Trump claimed Iran's navy and air force were effectively destroyed and its missile capabilities largely depleted. He said the operation's "core strategic objectives" were "nearing completion," though he also forecast another two to three weeks of high-intensity combat before seeking a negotiated cease-fire, as National Review detailed.
The military campaign has not been without cost. The AP reported that oil prices rose sharply and Asian stocks fell after Trump's address, while U.S. gas prices had already climbed above $4 per gallon as the Iran conflict disrupted energy markets. The USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group and additional U.S. troops, including soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, were being sent to the Middle East.
Trump has argued that these costs are justified. He said a nuclear-armed Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz would cause far greater long-term economic and security damage. "The hard part is done, so it should be easy," he said of securing the strait with allied help.
The political dynamics surrounding the Iran situation have been striking. While some Democrats, like Senator Chris Murphy, have questioned whether the administration is escalating or de-escalating, others have broken ranks entirely. Senator John Fetterman has publicly backed Trump's military strikes on Iran, calling them a step toward making "the world safer", a position that puts him squarely at odds with his own caucus.
That kind of crossover support is notable at a moment when Democrats are struggling to find their footing on national security. The party's broader challenges extend well beyond foreign policy. Even as special election wins have fueled some optimism on the left, Democrats face a deep favorability hole with voters who prioritize strength, security, and clear-eyed leadership.
Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have focused their energy on targets like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, filing impeachment articles in a long-shot bid that has drawn more eye-rolls than headlines. The contrast is hard to miss: while Trump negotiates the terms of Iran's nuclear surrender, his opponents are filing paperwork.
For all the president's optimism, significant questions remain. The specific terms of the reported "final and best offer" have not been made public. The exact status of any Monday talks is unconfirmed. And the gap between Trump's assertion that no money will change hands and Axios's report of a $20 billion arrangement has not been explained.
Iran's public posture is also largely absent from the record. Trump says Tehran has agreed to everything. But the last round of talks ended without a deal after 21 hours. Whether Iran's leadership has formally committed to the terms Trump described, or whether these remain aspirational markers in a fluid negotiation, is not yet clear from any official Iranian statement.
Trump himself seemed aware of the remaining distance. He told Axios the Iranians "want to meet" and "want to make a deal," language that suggests the final handshake has not yet happened. He told Reuters additional talks are needed. And the White House's own statement, that negotiations would not be conducted through media leaks, hinted at frustration with the pace of public disclosure, even as the president was conducting interviews with half a dozen outlets.
The Wall Street Journal's report that the U.S. negotiating team is on standby for a possible Monday session in Pakistan suggests the machinery is in place for rapid movement. Whether that movement produces a signed agreement or another marathon session without one is the question that matters most.
If Trump delivers what he described Friday, the agreement would be unlike anything previously attempted with Iran. No sunset clauses. No cash payments. A joint operation to physically remove enriched uranium from Iranian soil and transport it to the United States. An open-ended commitment from Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions entirely.
Trump framed the trajectory in characteristically direct terms:
"I think the deal will go very quickly. We're getting along very well with Iran."
That optimism may prove premature. Or it may prove prescient. The next day or two will tell. But the combination of sustained military pressure, a firm negotiating posture from Vance, and Trump's willingness to personally close the deal in Islamabad represents a coherent strategy, one built on leverage, not concessions.
Previous administrations tried to buy Iran's compliance with pallets of cash and expiration dates. This administration put a carrier strike group in the water and a deadline on the table. The approach is different. The results may be, too.