As the weekend approached, the US and Iran appeared to be closing in on a deal to end the seven-week war.
Then President Donald Trump did exactly what his staffers have repeatedly said they wouldn’t do: He seemed to try negotiating via the press, posting about ongoing talks on social media and speaking to several reporters by phone Friday morning as Pakistani intermediaries updated him on ongoing talks with Iranian officials in Tehran.
He claimed Iran had agreed to a host of provisions that sources familiar with the talks said have not yet been finalized. He also asserted that Tehran had agreed to many of the most contentious US demands — including that it had agreed to hand over the enriched uranium — and declared an imminent end to the war.
Iranian officials outwardly rejected many of those assertions and denied they were preparing for another round of talks, rapidly tanking the rising optimism for a deal. Now, it’s unclear where the peace talks go from here.
Some Trump officials privately acknowledged to CNN that the president’s public commentary has been detrimental to talks, noting the sensitivity of the negotiations and the Iranians’ deep mistrust of the US. Compounding matters: American officials suspect there is a divide between Iran’s negotiating team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, leading to questions about who can ultimately sign off on a deal.
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