In a flurry of posts on his Truth Social platform Friday, former and current U.S. President Donald Trump sent a clear signal that a landmark peace deal with Iran is within reach, celebrating breakthrough agreements on two critical sticking points: the status of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program.
Without formally issuing a formal announcement of a finalized accord, Trump opened his series of posts by declaring the day a “GREAT AND BRILLIANT DAY FOR THE WORLD!” He extended public gratitude to Pakistan, the neutral broker that hosted U.S.-Iran talks last weekend, as well as key Gulf Cooperation Council allies that have supported the negotiations, while launching a sharp public rebuke of NATO, telling the alliance to “STAY AWAY” after it offered assistance to secure the strategically vital waterway.
The latest flurry of optimism comes after Iran confirmed earlier this week it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz—a critical global oil chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies transited—for the duration of a wider Middle East ceasefire. In his post, Trump went further, asserting Iran has committed to permanently keeping the strait open, ending its history of using closure threats as a geopolitical tool. “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World,” he wrote. He added that Tehran is already in the process of clearing sea mines from the strait, with technical support from the United States, while noting that the existing American naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain fully in place until a final deal is signed.
Negotiations have progressed rapidly following an initial round of talks led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad last weekend. While that first round of negotiations did not yield a final agreement, Trump has steadily leaked details of breakthroughs in recent days. On Thursday, he confirmed Iran had agreed to surrender its entire stockpile of enriched uranium, and announced a second round of talks would be held in the Pakistani capital, adding he may travel to Islamabad personally to sign the final accord if negotiations hold.
On Friday, he pushed back against a recent Axios report that claimed the U.S. was offering $20 billion in unfrozen Iranian assets in exchange for Tehran’s uranium stockpile, explicitly denying any financial transfer would take place. “The U.S.A. will get all Nuclear ‘Dust,’ created by our great B2 Bombers – No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote, contradicting reporting that outlined a cash-for-uranium swap that would see Washington release billions in assets held in foreign banks.
Beyond the nuclear and strait agreements, Trump also doubled down on his announcement of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, saying the U.S. has formally prohibited Israel from conducting further airstrikes on Lebanese territory. The cross-border conflict erupted after the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel in response to the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran that began on February 28, and it had been widely seen as a major barrier to advancing any broader Iran peace deal. Trump emphasized that while the ceasefire is not formally linked to the Iran negotiations, he is committed to stabilizing the small Middle Eastern nation. “This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.
Trump reserved special praise for Pakistan’s leadership, thanking Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whom he called “fantastic,” and army chief Asim Munir for their work brokering the backchannel negotiations between Washington and Tehran. He also extended gratitude to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar for their cooperation amid Iranian strikes on the region that followed the launch of the U.S.-Israeli operation.
The sharpest criticism of the day was reserved for NATO, which has refused to join the U.S.-led conflict against Iran or deploy forces to the Strait of Hormuz while active hostilities continued. Trump said he received a formal request from the alliance to assist with securing the strait following the reopening, and he rejected the offer outright. “Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL,” he wrote. “They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!”
Trump’s rejection of NATO assistance comes shortly after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced following a bilateral meeting that the two European powers would lead a multinational naval mission to the strait as soon as security conditions permit.