WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said that Washington and Tehran could finalize an agreement within the next week to extend an interim ceasefire and reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz, projecting confidence in direct talks despite recent flare-ups across the Middle East.
In a telephone interview with ABC News, Trump characterized the backchannel diplomacy as “looking good,” asserting he personally resolved a temporary disruption earlier in the day sparked by renewed Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
“There was a little glitch today, but I turned that one around very quickly,” Trump said, framing a negotiated settlement as superior to continued military confrontation. “A peace agreement with Iran could be even better than a military victory.”
High-Stakes Diplomacy at the Chokepoint
The core of the proposed memorandum of understanding centers on lifting maritime restrictions and guaranteeing commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz—the critical corridor handling roughly 20% of global petroleum shipments.
Any threat of closure or heightened maritime risk carries immediate consequences for worldwide energy markets, tanker insurance rates, and international shipping corridors. For Washington, reopening the waterway removes a persistent inflationary drag on global trade. For Tehran, maritime guarantees remain closely linked to demands for sanctions relief and assurances against foreign military intervention.
While Trump voiced optimism that a deal could materialize in roughly seven days, he acknowledged that several core disputes remain unresolved.
“It’s not an easy thing for them,” Trump noted, referencing decades of mutual animosity. “It’s actually not easy from our standpoint either. But we’re getting what we need to get. I still have to get a few more points.”
Navigating Regional Turbulence
The administration’s timeline follows a volatile diplomatic stretch on Monday. Iranian officials briefly signaled a suspension of talks after expanded Israeli operations targeted Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon. Trump responded with direct calls to regional leaders, seeking to insulate the maritime track from peripheral fighting.
Trump stated he secured assurances from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that ground forces would refrain from entering central Beirut. Concurrently, Trump claimed indirect communications yielded an understanding that Hezbollah would suspend cross-border rocket salvos if Israeli strikes against its command structure paused.
Regional truces in the Levant have historically been fragile, often unraveling over isolated border skirmishes. Tehran has also refrained from issuing formal public statements confirming that technical working groups have reconvened at the pace Trump described.
An Aspirational Window
Foreign policy and defense analysts emphasize that while the White House’s seven-day timeframe signals clear momentum, translating handshake understandings into an enforceable security regime across the Persian Gulf remains a complex diplomatic hurdle.
The coming days will test whether both administrations can overcome deep domestic political resistance and bridge the remaining technical gaps into a binding international framework.
