Trump Declares Iran War Over Yet Again, for the 39th Time, as Tehran Says It Still Hasn’t Got the Memo

US President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that the war with Iran has ended and said a memorandum of understanding to formalise the peace could be signed as early as this weekend, possibly in Geneva , even as Tehran insisted no final decision had been taken. Speaking first at the Oval Office and later at a tele-rally for Georgia's Lt Governor Burt Jones , Trump called off threatened strikes hours after warning he would hit Iran "VERY HARD" and seize control of Kharg Island , the country's main oil export hub. "I don't know if you heard, but we ended the war with Iran today," he told the rally, adding that Tehran had agreed never to pursue a nuclear weapon, "which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through."

At the Oval Office, Trump said he had spoken to leaders of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Pakistan about the latest round of negotiations, and that "the stock market likes the deal." Asked how Iran had come around, he said bluntly: "They've taken a pounding like very few people could take, and they want to make the deal a lot more than I do."

Trump said he would not personally attend the signing, citing plans to watch a UFC event at the White House around his 80th birthday, but that Vice President JD Vance could travel instead. Four US Air Force C-17 transport planes reportedly left for Europe on Thursday, fuelling speculation of a Geneva ceremony in the coming days.

Iran's response was more measured. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the text had "almost been finalized in its major parts" but accused Washington of repeatedly shifting positions, adding that "no final decision" had been reached. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said separately that an agreement had "never been closer." Pakistan's prime minister went further, saying a "final, agreed upon text" had been reached, while Trump pushed back at Iranian state media's published version of the terms, saying it had "nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing."

According to diplomats from mediating countries, the draft MOU calls for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen immediately without tolls, sanctions relief tied to Iranian compliance, and a 60-day extension of the ceasefire covering Lebanon as well, during which nuclear talks would continue. Iran's Mehr News Agency separately reported a 14-point draft that includes lifting oil sanctions, reopening Hormuz within 30 days, releasing frozen Iranian funds, and withdrawing US forces from the region, though it cautioned the proposal still needs approval from Iranian authorities. Tehran has also demanded that any final deal address an end to the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza , not just the bilateral track with Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who spoke to Trump by phone, said he had received assurances that any final agreement would include removal of enriched material, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production and an end to Iran's support for regional proxies, though Israel remains outside the talks.

Even as the diplomatic track gathered pace, the fighting did not entirely stop. US forces shot down two Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz early Friday after Tehran's forces reportedly fired on a tanker attempting to transit without authorization. Markets, however, took heart from the talk of peace: Brent crude fell more than four per cent to below $84 a barrel, an eight-week low, while Wall Street futures pointed higher on hopes that months of disruption to Gulf shipping and energy supplies could finally be easing.