US President Donald Trump has said that he had “very good talks” with Iran in the past 24 hours, adding that “it’s very possible we’ll make a deal.” Referencing the timeline for when a deal could be reached and the hostilities in the Middle East could finally end, the US President said there’s “never a deadline” on when he expects to hear back from Tehran on a proposal, hinting at an open-ended timeframe.
Iranian authorities have agreed that they will not seek nuclear weapons amid the ongoing talks, Trump claimed, speaking to reporters at the White House Oval Office.
“We’re in good shape,” Trump told reporters. “Now we’re doing well, and we have to get what we have to get. If we don’t do that, we’ll have to go a big step further. But with that being said, they want to make a deal,” he added.
It’s very possible that we’ll make a deal, said US President Donald Trump.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key figure who brokered the initial talks in Islamabad last month, also held out hope for the US-Iran deal. “We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond,” he wrote on X.
President Trump Delivers Remarks, May 6, 2026 https://t.co/ofRaeajwVN
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 6, 2026
Has Iran Agreed to Kill its Nuclear Ambitions?
According to the US President, Iran’s officials have bowed down to his chief demand of dismantling its nuclear ambitions. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t, and they’ve agreed to that, among other things,” the US president said, though there has been no official indication or comment from Iran about never acquiring nuclear weapons.
Trump reiterated his position that the Islamic Republic must “never” obtain nukes, as diplomatic messaging around verification, enforcement, and the terms of the potential deal were under scrutiny. He expressed optimism about the ongoing negotiations, stating that there will ultimately be an agreement with Iran despite regional tensions continuing and maritime incidents taking place at the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Sources told Reuters that the proposal shared would formally end the war, but it would leave the key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz “unresolved.”
Trump also praised the US Navy blockade, calling it “a wall of steel,” adding that Iran is unable to move anything through.
“Nobody goes through. The Iranians are not getting anything through one way or the other.”
As the ceasefire proposal was exchanged, the US military disabled an Iran-flagged unladen oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, enforcing the US blockade in the Hormuz waterway. CENTCOM said that the ship tried to sail towards an Iranian port illegally through the maritime blockade.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end… If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.” – President… pic.twitter.com/WawLkequWU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 6, 2026
How has Iran Reacted?
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said a US proposal to end the war is still “under review”, and that Tehran will convey its response to the mediator in Pakistan after “finalising its views”, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency. While Trump stated on Wednesday that he believes a deal with Iran was finally in the making, he threatened to resume bombing the country if the negotiations fell apart. If “Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to,” the war would be over, but if not, the bombing would resume “at a much higher level and intensity,” Trump noted, hardening rhetoric around the resumption of war. He issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran to call a truce.
Iran’s chief negotiators, in turn, warned that Washington was seeking to force the Islamic Republic’s “surrender.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told the state-run news agency that the proposal and its terms are being carefully reviewed after Trump threatened more bombing if Tehran refused the deal. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, who has taken the lead in negotiations, meanwhile, warned that Washington “is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender.”
Is the Strait of Hormuz Still Impassable? What Happened to ‘Project Freedom?’
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced that he is “pausing” the infamous ‘Project Freedom’ that was aimed at guiding the stranded commercial shipping out of the Strait of Hormuz through what the US military described as “Iran’s blockade.” Trump abruptly changed the plan, saying that the campaign had to be paused “for a short period” in order to finalise a deal with Iran.
The US Naval blockade of the Iranian ports would remain in place, Trump announced in a Social Media post.
Launched only Monday, ‘Project Freedom’ was started at the request of Pakistan and other countries, according to Trump. He touted the mission, which lasted less than 24 hours, a “tremendous military success” that paved the way toward a complete and “final agreement” with the representatives of Iran. Iran has yet to comment on these claims.
“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed…” – President… pic.twitter.com/R9SlC4w68g
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 5, 2026
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, insisted at a White House presser that the ceasefire in the Middle East was still holding, even when the conflict hadn’t been fully resolved. Rubio announced that the initial major operation against Iran—Operation Epic Fury— has also concluded. “The operation is over. Epic Fury – as the president notified Congress – we’re done with that stage of it,” Rubio said. He pressed that peace in the Middle East must be achieved and that Iran must comply to the US demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and give up on its nuclear program.
Trump’s announcement countered the remarks made by the US Secretary of War just hours earlier that the US military “successfully secured” the waterway to the Hormuz, and that hundreds of commercial vessels were lined up to pass through.
“We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the Strait. They do not,” US War Secretary Hegseth told reporters in Washington.
With reports of a cargo vessel struck with a projectile in the artery, Rubio backtracked on the statement, saying that the US was still working to get the ships to pass through the Strait “as a favour” because the United States “is the only one that can.”
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 6, 2026
Rubio expressed “hope” that during Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China on Wednesday, Beijing would convince Iran to let go of its stranglehold on Hormuz. “It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” Rubio said.
We would prefer the path of peace. What the president [Donald Trump] would prefer is a deal, Rubio told reporters.
Clear military objectives from day one.@SecRubio 🔥⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hz1jXzzQGX
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 5, 2026
Macron Calls to Lift Hormuz Blockade
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the lifting of the Hormuz blockade that has left oil and other cargo tankers stalled near Oman for two months. In a Social Media post, Macron said he met with the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed his deep concern over the ongoing escalation and condemned the unjustified strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships,” his post translated from French, read.
The French president called on all parties to allow safe passage to the global commercial vessels, adding that he has plans to speak with US President Donald Trump. “All parties must lift the blockade of the Strait, without delay and without conditions,” Macron said. “We must durably return to the regime of full freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict.”
He continued that the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has been deployed to the Red Sea as part of a maritime coalition initiative aimed at securing the Strait of Hormuz and protecting commercial shipping.
The “pre-positioning of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is working to escort vessels safely through the strait as part of a multinational mission, will help restore confidence among shipowners and insurers,” Macron noted.
(Charles de Gaulle Carrier Strike Group are heading through the Suez Canal to Middle East to prepare for possible UK-French-led multinational defensive mission to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Credit: X)
According to the official statement published by the French Armed Forces, Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group was repositioned from the East Mediterranean Sea toward the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. “The return of calm in the Strait will help advance negotiations on the nuclear issue, the ballistic issue and the regional situation,” the post said. “The Europeans, on whom the lifting of sanctions depends, will take their place in this process.”
The CSG first sailed toward the Southern Red Sea after passing through Suez. The route focused on two major pressure points for global shipping, the approaches to the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb, and the wider sea lines connecting the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and the Gulf, as per the French forces.
