President Donald Trump says the U.S.-Iran peace deal is scheduled to be signed Sunday and that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen immediately afterward. Iran is telling a different story: not Sunday, though possibly in the coming days.
That timing gap is now the newest pressure point in the Iran crisis. Earlier updates centered on whether a final text existed and how allied navies might clear mines from Hormuz. The fresh development is more direct: Washington, Pakistan and some mediators are preparing the public for a Sunday signing, while Tehran is refusing to lock itself into that same clock.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the agreement was closer than ever and expected to be finalized within 24 hours. AP said Pakistan was preparing for an electronic signing, followed by technical-level talks next week.
But AP also noted that Iran’s foreign ministry was more cautious about the date. That matters because a deal that exists in principle still has to survive the politics of announcement, signature, implementation and verification.
Trump Puts a Date on the Deal
The Guardian reported that Trump said the deal was scheduled to be signed Sunday and that Hormuz would be open to all immediately after the signing. The president also framed the agreement as blocking Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while warning that the U.S. still had a military option if the process failed.
Al Jazeera reported the same core contradiction: Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after a Sunday signing, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the document would not be signed Sunday but could be signed in the coming days.
That is not a small messaging difference. If Trump is right, the war could enter a formal pause within hours and the world’s most sensitive energy chokepoint could begin a staged reopening. If Iran is right, the next 24 hours could become another round of claims, denials and market-moving uncertainty.
The Signing May Be Electronic
Axios reported that the U.S. and Iran, together with Pakistani and Qatari mediators, were expected to hold a virtual meeting Sunday and electronically sign a memorandum of understanding. Axios said the signing would extend the ceasefire by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and start negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
The electronic format is important because it suggests negotiators are trying to avoid a physical summit while still creating a formal record. Axios reported that the virtual signing was partly driven by logistics, including the travel schedule around Trump’s trip to the G7 summit in France.
That also explains why the timeline is so politically sensitive. A remote signature could be arranged quickly if all sides agree on the text. It could also fall apart quickly if Tehran believes Washington is using public pressure to force a ceremony before final approvals are complete.
Hormuz Is Still the Immediate Test
The Strait of Hormuz remains the practical heart of the deal. AP reported that the emerging agreement includes provisions for reopening the waterway, while Iran wants to charge ships for services when they transit the strait. The U.S. and other nations have disputed Iran’s wartime toll system.
Trump’s promise that Hormuz would be open to all immediately after signing is therefore a high bar. Even if the memorandum is signed Sunday, ships, insurers and naval commanders will need clarity on mines, tolls, escorts, Iranian patrols and the status of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.
That is why this moment is bigger than a social media claim. The crisis has had several near-breakthroughs before. This one now has a named signing day from Trump, a denial of that exact timing from Iran, and mediators trying to turn an unsigned memorandum into a real halt in the war.
What Comes Next
The next test is brutally simple: does a Sunday signing actually happen? If it does, attention shifts immediately to whether Hormuz traffic resumes and whether nuclear talks begin under the promised 60-day framework. If it does not, the dispute over timing could become another sign that Washington and Tehran are still selling different versions of the same draft.
For now, the safest read is cautious. The deal appears closer than it has been, but it is not done until both sides sign it. In a crisis built on missed deadlines, military threats and competing claims of victory, the difference between “scheduled” and “signed” is everything.
Sources: Associated Press, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Axios.