Donald Trump said he would meet on Saturday with American negotiators to review Iran's latest proposal, as he weighs whether to strike the country again by Sunday or push ahead with a deal. He told Axios the chances were a "solid 50/50" for a "good" agreement or a new attack, and said he could act against Iran "to kingdom come."
Trump said he will meet with special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, and jd vance is also due to sit down with him. He is expected to see Gulf mediators as well, with Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish leaders expected to take part in the broader talks.
The timing matters because the ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran has only been in place since early April, after more than a month of war. That truce was meant to stop the fighting and open space for negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programme, issues that could shake a route carrying one fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies.
Pakistan has been trying to bridge the gap between Tehran and Washington, and a Pakistani security official said a memorandum of understanding is being "fine tuned" to end the war. On Saturday, Pakistan's army chief, Syed Asim Munir, met Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran before leaving the country. The talks reportedly centered on a 14-point peace proposal by Iran and messages being carried between the two sides.
Iran's top negotiator made clear that the public line in Tehran remains hard. After meeting Munir, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said there would be no compromise over Iran's national rights and accused the United States of not being an honest negotiating partner. He said Tehran would secure its "legitimate rights" either on the battlefield or through negotiations, and warned that if Trump acted foolishly and the war resumed, the response against the United States would be "more crushing and bitter than on the first day of the war."
Ghalibaf also said the Iranian military had rebuilt its capabilities during the ceasefire, a signal that Tehran is preparing for both diplomacy and escalation. That message lands at the same moment Iranian state TV says the country is in the final stage of drafting a framework for a deal with the United States, while a report on Friday said the Trump administration was preparing for a renewed round of strikes.
The split-screen is stark: back-channel diplomacy on one side, a fresh threat of force on the other. Trump spoke with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Saturday about regional and international efforts to stabilise the ceasefire, and a Qatari delegation met with Iranian and Pakistani mediators in Iran on Friday. By Sunday, the president says he will decide which path wins out — and whether the region gets a deal, or another war.
