President Donald Trump said on May 23, 2026, that the United States will only sign a deal with Iran and that the two sides are getting closer to finalizing an agreement. He said the talks are moving in the right direction and added that “every day it gets better and better.”
Trump made the remarks to CBS News as his administration weighed a proposal that sources familiar with the negotiations said could include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, unfreezing some Iranian assets held in foreign banks and continuing talks. The president said the final agreement would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and would ensure its enriched uranium is “satisfactorily handled.”
The comments landed at a moment when the White House is still testing the limits of the emerging deal. Sources told CBS News that Trump has not made up his mind yet and is still considering proposals while consulting advisers and speaking with foreign leaders, including leaders from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
That outreach is set to intensify on Saturday afternoon, when Trump is scheduled to take part in a conference call with leaders of Gulf countries and other nations to discuss the negotiations. The timing matters because the administration appears to be weighing not just the terms of a nuclear agreement, but whether it can sell those terms to regional partners who would live with the consequences first.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the most prominent advocates for resuming U.S. attacks on Iran, said a deal would amount to a major shift in the balance of power in the region. He warned that if Tehran is seen as able to threaten the Strait of Hormuz and damage Gulf oil infrastructure, Iran would be viewed as a dominant force that could force a diplomatic solution. Graham added that it was “important we get this right.”
Iran, for its part, said on Saturday that the nuclear issue was not part of an initial framework it was drafting to end the war with the United States. That statement leaves the central dispute intact even as both sides publicly describe the diplomacy as moving forward.
For now, the president’s own line is the clearest sign of where the talks stand: Trump is not ready to sign anything that falls short of what he wants, but he is saying the gap is narrowing. The next test is whether his call with Gulf leaders produces enough regional backing to turn a tentative framework into a deal that can survive the politics around it.
