US President Donald Trump set a new timeframe for reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying it would likely be concluded within “two or three days.”
The comment was the latest in a series of repeated statements asserting that an agreement is near, dating to the start of negotiations between the two sides in April 2026.
Speaking after attending an NBA Finals game in New York on June 8, Trump said diplomatic efforts were in their “final throes,” adding that the anticipated “very, very good” deal would stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and would reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately.
“I don’t think there are any points of disagreement; all parties are very close to reaching a deal,” Trump said, before saying the US blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz would remain in place.
In other remarks delivered by phone to a conference held by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump said the US would declare “complete victory” over Iran within two weeks. “We are negotiating now, and they want to reach a very good agreement. They are ready to give us everything,” he said.
“I think we won that battle, but you will really win this over the next two weeks when we declare total victory. It'll be a total victory, it will happen very soon, and oil prices will come tumbling down,” he continued.
Negotiations remain complicated by disputes over the future of Iran’s nuclear program, uranium enrichment and the lifting of US sanctions, as well as Iranian demands to link any agreement to ending the ongoing confrontation in Lebanon.
This was not the first time Trump had promised major progress within “two weeks.” The ceasefire was supposed to last only two weeks, beginning April 7, before he extended it unilaterally after Tehran declined to attend meetings in Pakistan, the country leading mediation efforts.
While Trump continues to say an agreement is near, CNN has tracked similar remarks over the past two months that have not produced any breakthrough.
The network said the US president had spoken dozens of times since March, in television interviews and on social media platforms, about a deal being close or about Iran’s urgent desire to reach one, none of which had actually materialized.
Trump repeated at least 37 times statements asserting that a deal was imminent or that Tehran was “pleading” to reach one, according to CNN.
From the early days of the war, Trump spoke of “key points of agreement,” then said in April that the deal needed only two weeks to complete, before reiterating on several occasions that it would be announced “within a day or two” or “very soon.”
This recurring pattern of statements, CNN said, raised questions about how realistic US assessments were, especially as fundamental disputes between the two sides persisted and every previous deadline Trump had set for completing the deal had passed without result.
Iran’s position has reinforced that skepticism. In an interview with CNN, Iran’s top security official, Ebrahim Azizi, said that talk of an imminent agreement does not reflect the current state of negotiations, stressing that major obstacles remain, especially over uranium enrichment and the future of Tehran’s nuclear program.
Despite the continued exchange of messages through mediators, Iran is still holding to its demands for lifting sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, while Washington continues to demand guarantees that would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
