President Donald Trump said Thursday that a peace deal with Iran could be signed as early as this weekend in Europe, comments that mark the latest turn toward diplomacy after days of military strikes.Vice President JD Vance would attend the signing on behalf of the administration if a deal is reached, Trump said in remarks at the White House. He also praised special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have worked with Vance to negotiate with Tehran.“I won’t be able to be there, but JD will be there, vice president, and some of the people,” Trump said in the Oval Office while announcing an unrelated proclamation. “Steve Witkoff did a great job, Jared.”
The possible memorandum of understanding comes after Trump canceled a series of strikes on Iran scheduled for Thursday evening and threatened to seize Kharg Island.
“They got hit very hard recently, as you know, and I don’t like to have to do things that way, but I felt it was necessary,” Trump said.
The military escalation had been threatening a fragile ceasefire between the two nations and came after Trump accused Iran of stringing the United States along in negotiations.
Trump projected confidence that a deal could come “soon, maybe this weekend,” when he was questioned about the multiple reports over the past three months that a peace deal to end the war had been reached, only for it to then fall apart.
