U.S. President Donald Trump declared Thursday that a peace deal with Iran could be signed as early as this weekend, claiming that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the terms. Iran wasted no time contradicting him.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei dismissed the reports as “speculation,” stating that “the relevant authorities must review” any proposal and that no final decision had been reached. Trump had called off what he described as “scheduled” strikes on Iran after two consecutive days of bombardment — the largest escalation since a truce was announced in April.
The back-and-forth carries an air of déjà vu. As The Hindu pointedly noted, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Trump had announced a deal was “imminent” 38 times in the previous two months alone.
