Trump Criticizes Iran, Calls Media Reports About Deal ‘Fake News’

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that leaked claims about a pending Iran deal are false, after Iranian state media outlets earlier in the day published claims that a draft agreement is complete.

“The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president did not specifically mention the leaked terms of the deal that he said were false, but then chastised the Iranian regime as having “very dishonorable people to deal with” and added they often do not act in “good faith.”

“Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST!” he wrote in his Truth Social post. He did not elaborate on the next steps.

The comment came hours after Trump said that he was calling off larger new strikes against Iran because the deal was now ready.

“We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Thursday afternoon.

He offered scant details, other than to say he expects an agreement to extend a fragile ceasefire that started in April to be finalized “over the next few days.”

In a post on X, Vice President JD Vance pushed back against media speculation as to what is in the deal.

“I’m seeing a lot of fake information about a potential deal to reopen the Strait and end Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” he said.

Vance went on to say that the Iranians are not getting any money for agreeing to the deal and that Tehran will get funds if they meet their obligations.

The announcement came after two days of back-and-forth attacks between the United States and Iran had pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.

Trump had warned of further escalation earlier on Thursday, writing on social media that the U.S. military would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and would eventually gain “total control” of its oil and gas industries, including its Kharg Island, which includes facilities that process a large portion of the country’s oil.

Later in the day, Trump wrote that U.S. negotiation points “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.” Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said through Iranian state television that the text of a deal is mostly “finalized.”

“Textually, the text has almost been finalized in its major parts. The problem is that the contradictory positions of the United States have always caused turbulence and disruption in this process,” Baghaei said, according to state-run PressTV.

There were back-and-forth strikes across the Middle East throughout the week, marking what appears to be the most significant rise in tensions in the region since Trump announced a ceasefire agreement with Iran in April.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that a deal is near.

“The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer. Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content,” he posted on X. “In line with our responsible and transparent approach, all details will be shared with the public in due course.

The first round of strikes involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the United States and Iran, which fired at countries where U.S. military troops are stationed. The U.S. military strikes were launched as Trump said that Iran was responsible for the downing of an American attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

A sticking point in the negotiations is the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump has said needs to be opened. Iran has, for the most part, shut down traffic in the strait, which has driven up oil and gas prices worldwide. The U.S. military, in return, imposed a blockade on Iran’s ports, which is still ongoing as of Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.