{"id":211667,"date":"2026-05-25T13:05:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-says-no-deal-imminent-despite-progress-in-talks-with-u-s-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:05:58","slug":"iran-says-no-deal-imminent-despite-progress-in-talks-with-u-s-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-says-no-deal-imminent-despite-progress-in-talks-with-u-s-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran says no deal \u2018imminent\u2019 despite progress in talks with U.S. – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morning Rundown: U.S. and Iran play down hopes of imminent deal, race to stop chemical tank explosion, and Pope Leo\u2019s AI warning<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Iran<\/a> warned Monday that an agreement to end the war with the United States was not imminent,<\/a> after President Donald Trump raised and then lowered expectations that a deal may be close<\/a>.
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While Tehran acknowledged progress but played down the idea that an announcement could come soon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal was still possible Monday.
As a flurry of diplomacy unfolded from the Middle East to China, Iran\u2019s top negotiators were in Qatar \u2014 an increasingly central player in the accelerating efforts to secure a deal that would end the three-month war and restore shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route.
Trump was \u201cnot in a hurry\u201d and won\u2019t rush into \u201ca bad deal,\u201d Rubio told reporters early Monday on an official visit to New Delhi.
\u201cWe\u2019re either going to have a good agreement or we\u2019re going to have to deal with it another way,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe\u2019d prefer to have a good agreement.\u201d
The U.S. has a \u201cpretty solid thing on the table,\u201d he added. \u201cAs I said, we thought we might have some news last night, maybe today.\u201d
The U.S. will give diplomacy every chance to succeed \u201cbefore we explore the alternatives,\u201d he said, without elaborating.
Trump echoed that message, writing in a social media post hours later that the deal with Iran \u201cwill either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal.\u201d
Trump said Sunday <\/strong>that he would not \u201crush into a deal,\u201d a step back from earlier public statements from the president and officials from both nations that indicated an announcement may be close.
Emerging details from the possible memorandum of understanding had drawn pushback, with senior Republican lawmakers warning it could be a \u201cdisastrous mistake.\u201d
Trump hit back at this criticism early Monday, assailing what he termed \u201cDumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal.\u201d
Iranian officials were cautious.
Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters the focus of the negotiations was on ending the war and \u201cat this stage we are not discussing the details of the nuclear issue.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s true that we have reached conclusions on many issues under discussion, but no one can claim that this means an imminent agreement is about to be signed,\u201d Baghaei said, according to comments carried by the hard-line Student News Network.
The agreement in the works does not detail how the Strait of Hormuz will be managed, he said, adding that it should be \u201ca matter for its coastal states.\u201d
Tehran\u2019s effective closure of the key waterway has wreaked havoc on global energy markets, but oil prices fell more than $5 to two-week lows Monday as optimism about a deal grew. The average gas prices in the U.S. dropped slightly to $4.51.
Iran\u2019s top negotiators, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Monday as part of the ongoing negotiations, a diplomat briefed on the visit told NBC News.
In recent days, Qatar has taken an increasingly active role alongside Pakistan in mediating between the U.S. and Iran.
The framework of a potential agreement, according to a senior administration official, would give the two sides 60 days to reach a full peace deal that the official said \u201cwill deliver on President Trump\u2019s priorities and ensure the United States and the region are safer and more prosperous going forward.\u201d
The agreement would commit Iran to not developing a nuclear weapon, the senior administration official said, and commit it to giving up the \u201cnuclear dust\u201d \u2014 Trump\u2019s term for enriched uranium \u2014 though it would leave details on how this may happen to talks over the following 60 days.
The official said the framework would also get the Strait of Hormuz \u201cde-mined and back open for business.\u201d
In exchange, the U.S. would gradually lift its naval blockade and offer Iran long-sought financial relief for its ailing economy, though the official said this would only happen once Tehran followed through on its side of the agreement.
If the deal does go into effect soon, the 60-day window effectively pushes the next ceasefire deadline to late July or early August.
That would mean dragging out the war even closer to the November midterm elections, and certainly in the middle of campaign season for some Republicans who want Trump to wrap up the conflict as it drags down the party\u2019s poll numbers.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in talks, was in Beijing on Monday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. There have been growing calls for China to apply more pressure on Iran to end the war, given its significant influence with Tehran.
A key priority for Iran has been ending Israeli attacks on Lebanon, where the U.S. ally says it is targeting the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militant group but has also killed thousands of people and driven a million from their homes.
Baghaei said Monday that Lebanon would be included in any memorandum of understanding.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he and Trump agree that \u201cany final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger\u201d and that \u201cTrump also reaffirmed Israel\u2019s right to defend itself against threats on every front, including Lebanon.\u201d
The pair discussed the talks in a call Saturday night, amid growing reports of divisions between the allies.
Yuliya Talmazan is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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