WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump's team was actively working behind the scenes over Memorial Day weekend to deliver an Iran peace deal, the president's own social posts left a trail of confusion.
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It started late Saturday afternoon, following a call with 10 Arab leaders amid a flurry of questions about the state of the talks. Trump posted to Truth Social that a peace deal with Iran was “largely negotiated†and “will be announced shortly.â€
Reporters scrambled to pull together plans on how to cover the deal once it emerged, but no announcement came.
Less than 24 hours later, Trump walked back his statement. The phrase “largely negotiated†became not “even fully negotiated yet.â€
The Trump administration has offered conflicting public reports on the war since the U.S. and Israel began the bombing campaign Feb. 28. The president initially said that Iran's military capabilities were wiped out, only for official government assessments to emerge that Iran was digging out its arsenal.
In early May, the president announced an effort to guide ships through the blocked Strait of Hormuz and his top allies publicly extolled the plan; then he canceled it 36 hours later, after backlash from Arab allies, NBC news reported.
And over the weekend, amid conflicting reports on the peace talks, Iran accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire and threatened retaliation after a new set of strikes the U.S. called defensive. The White House didn't immediately comment on the posts.
By Sunday morning, the president had not shared any updates on the talks, but he did criticize former President Barack Obama's previous deal with Iran from 11 years ago to curb nuclear weapon development in exchange for the reduction of sanctions. Trump called it “one of the worst deals ever made.â€
Under Obama's deal, Iran agreed to give up 97% of its enriched uranium stockpiles and 70% of its centrifuges. Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018. Iran began violating the terms of the deal once the U.S. withdrew, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
On Monday morning, the president posted again without detailing any progress on the talks, making the deal ambiguous that had been on its way to being “finalized†on Friday. Trump wrote, “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal.â€
Again, he argued the Obama deal with Iran was a “direct and open path to a Nuclear Weapon,†even though the IAEA had confirmed Iran had completed its nuclear disarmament commitments prior to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal. The IAEA says Iran resumed uranium enrichment and grew its stockpiles after Trump pulled out of the deal.
Two hours later, Trump was optimistic, writing that discussions were “proceeding nicely†and declared that all of the 10 Arab nations that had been participating in the discussions were now mandated to join the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and five other countries, including the UAE.
In the list of countries now required by Trump to recognize Israel, the president included Egypt and Jordan, even though both countries have established relationships with Israel that predate the Abraham Accords. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 and Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994.
“Expanding the Abraham Accords has been a priority for President Trump since his first term,†White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “As the President said, the Abraham Accords have provided massive economic benefits to all countries involved and enabled historic cooperation, so this would be a natural complement to a peace deal between the United States and Iran.â€
Trump wrote that if no deal was reached, it was back to the battlefield “bigger and stronger than ever before.†Resuming combat operations may not be easy.
NBC News has reported on depleted munitions as a result of the military operation launched on Feb. 28, noting that without a replenished stockpile the Pentagon may not be able to sustain many more months of operations in the Middle East. As of mid-May, the Pentagon had not signed any new contracts to replenish “dangerously low levels†of munitions.
By the end of Memorial Day, Trump threw out a new option: Iran's enriched uranium will either be “immediately turned over to the United States†and “in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent.â€
The Atomic Energy Commission no longer exists, as it was abolished more than 50 years ago. It's possible Trump was referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but it's unclear. The White House didn't respond to a request for clarification.
During a Memorial Day event at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump said that Americans lost their lives in part “to ensure that the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon. Oh, and they won't. They will never have a nuclear weapon. I'm sure you, I'm sure you know that.â€
The audience cheered in response.
By the end of the holiday weekend there was no clarity on whether Iran's nuclear material or remaining “nuclear dust†would even be included in any final deal … if there was a deal.
