Odaily, citing Axios, reported that a preliminary agreement between Trump and Iran had been close to completion by the end of May. According to the report, if Trump had accepted the terms already negotiated by his team the previous month, the two sides would have likely been able to reach an initial deal at that time. The process changed after a May 29 meeting in the White House Situation Room, where Trump decided to ask Iran for two additional revisions.
Two new requirements after the White House meeting
The first added requirement was that Iran must begin diluting its stockpile of enriched uranium within 60 days. The second was that Iran must pledge not to charge any transit fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In exchange, Trump was willing to accept an arrangement under which the enriched uranium would remain inside Iran and be diluted under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
Sources and U.S. officials said Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told mediators and the United States that he needed four to five days to obtain a response. That short waiting period, however, eventually turned into nearly two weeks. Axios described the delay as part of the reason the agreement that had appeared close at the end of May did not materialize on the original timeline.
Pressure mounted as the wait extended
During this period, Trump became increasingly frustrated as media outlets continued to report that the agreement he had promised had still not been delivered. Axios noted that some of the coverage carried a mocking tone. At the same time, U.S. hard-liners on Iran criticized him for being too soft toward Tehran, adding another layer of pressure around the negotiations.
The report also said the situation was made worse by a separate dispute over frozen assets. Iran stated both publicly and privately that it wanted some of its frozen assets released first. Trump, however, insisted that Iran must fulfill its obligations under the agreement before such steps could take place. Odaily attributed the item to Jinshi.