Trump cabinet looks forward to progress on Iran deal in 'coming hours, days'

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump told his cabinet and the media during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that his administration is “not satisfied” with the terms of a deal with Iran yet, “but we will be”.

The session, which is open to reporters, is one of the administration’s most closely watched meetings in recent weeks. The president and his cabinet members touched upon a number of domestic and international issues of interest, as well as discussing the ongoing negotiations with Iran.

“They just want to make a deal. I dont think they have a choice,” Trump said, referring to Tehran. “Their economy is in free fall, their money has no value, their whole economic system has broken down,” he said.

“They thought they were gonna outwait me, like, ‘He’s got a midterm’. I dont care about the midterm.” he said.

“It’s very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I am doing this for the whole world not for the US only,” he said. “We’ve had great support from other nations. We need it all.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio while briefing the meeting said Washington’s first option is diplomacy. “We continued to work on that. We want an agreement to be made. There has been some progress.”

“We’ll see over the next few hours or days if progress can be made. Mr President, you have other options as well if that doesnt work,” he added. “We are negotiating and you are giving it every chance to succeed.”

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth told the meeting that shipments had not been able to leave or arrive at Iranian ports. “We can tell from our intel that their economy is hurting big time.”

He said the US could either “bring them to the table either through the efforts of negotiators” or “go back to finish the job”.

“Americans are excited about what you’re bringing to the defence industrial base,” he claimed. “Defence manufacturers are investing in new defence plants and production lines,” he said, adding that the growth had resulted in 1 million additional jobs for Americans.

Trump’s administration faces growing tensions in the Middle East and difficult negotiations with Iran over a possible agreement aimed at reducing the risk of a wider regional conflict.

The cabinet meeting comes amidst efforts to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran after weeks of indirect negotiations. The proposed agreement is intended to preserve the fragile ceasefire and create conditions for broader talks on Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues.

Diplomats familiar with the negotiations say most of the document had already been agreed upon over the weekend. At the time, there was optimism that an early signing of the MoU could help ease tensions in the Persian Gulf, including around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes.

Iranian state TV reported earlier today that Tehran had obtained a draft of the initial, unofficial framework for the MoU. Under the alleged framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, while the US would withdraw military forces from Iran’s vicinity and lift a naval blockade.

State TV also claimed that the framework, which excludes military vessels and envisages Iran managing ship traffic through the strait in cooperation with Oman, was not yet finalised and that Tehran would take no steps without “tangible verification”.

It added that if a final agreement was reached within 60 days, it could be approved as a binding UN Security Council resolution.

The White House, however, rubbished Iranian media reports, terming them “not true” and claiming that the MoU being reported on was “a complete fabrication”.

Trump’s public schedule reflects the seriousness of the situation. The session will be open to reporters, making it one of the administration’s most closely watched meetings in recent weeks. Additional policy meetings are scheduled later in the day behind closed doors.

Negotiations between the two parties have slowed in recent days. Rubio has said disagreements still remain over the wording of certain parts of the document.

Officials say even small changes in language are important because previous agreements between Washington and Tehran have collapsed over disputes about interpretation and implementation.

The ceasefire connected to the talks has now entered its eighth week but remains under pressure.

Iran has warned it could respond to recent US military actions, while fighting involving Israel and Hezbollah has continued to intensify along the Lebanese border. These developments have increased fears that the conflict could spread across the region. However, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards official today said that renewed war with the US was unlikely but warned that Iran stood ready against any attack.

International pressure has been increasing on both the US and Iran to avoid another military escalation. Countries in the Gulf region and global energy markets remain concerned that instability around the Strait of Hormuz could disrupt oil supplies and damage the world economy.

The White House did not officially release details of the cabinet agenda, but discussions were expected to focus on Iran, Gulf security, energy markets, and the broader US strategy in the Middle East.

The meeting was originally planned at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, often used for high-level national security discussions. However, Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the gathering was moved back to Washington because of possible bad weather.

“Based on the possible bad weather conditions tomorrow, we will be having our Cabinet Meeting in the White House, and will be postponing the Cabinet trip to Camp David. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote.