US, Iran signal peace deal is close after Trump lashes out at ‘dishonorable’ Iranians

Iran's foreign minister said Friday that a deal with the United States to end the Middle East war was closer than ever, as a senior US official and key mediator Pakistan both expressed mounting optimism for an elusive agreement. Publicly, however, the warring sides' negotiating positions remain far apart, with Iranian state media publishing a breakdown of what was purportedly on the table that stood sharply at odds with Washington's longstanding red lines. Over weeks of halting negotiations -- marked by threats and exchanges of fire despite an April truce -- US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that a deal was all but signed, only for talks to drag on. The president had repeated that assertion on Thursday, but on Friday lashed out at Tehran, accusing it of negotiating in bad faith following the Iranian media reports. In a social media post, Trump dismissed the Iranian accounts as having "NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing". "Very dishonorable people to deal with," he continued. "They better get their act together, and FAST!" But Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to play down the row. "The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer," he wrote in a social media post, referring to the Pakistani capital that hosted previous US-Iran talks. "Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content," he added. Trump later posted a screenshot of Araghchi's message on his own feed.

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