U.S. and Iran Remain Divided on Hormuz Deal as White House Rejects Tehran

• President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, the United States (U.S.) and Iran still have issues to resolve in peace talks, ‌after Washington dismissed an Iranian state television report of a framework deal to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within a month and to lift a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ships.
• Trump told a cabinet meeting that Iran remained keen to end the war, which has choked global energy supplies through the strategic waterway, but that the terms did not satisfy Washington. "Iran is very much intent; they want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven't gotten there ... We're not satisfied with it, but we will be. Either that or we'll have to just finish the job," he said, without elaborating.
• "The deal has got to be perfect," he later added, insisting that the Strait of Hormuz would be open immediately after a deal is ⁠reached and that no single country would have control over the waterway.
• Iranian state TV reported that it had obtained an unofficial draft of a memorandum of understanding under which the U.S. would lift its blockade and withdraw its forces from Iran's vicinity. It said the issue of U.S. troops in the region needed further discussion, without elaborating. It did not mention Iran's nuclear programme, which the U.S. wants disbanded.
• In a statement on social media, the White House dismissed the report as a "complete fabrication", while Tehran did not comment. Publicly, the two sides previously outlined positions starkly at odds. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the cabinet meeting: "There's been some progress and some interest, and we'll see over the next few hours and days whether progress could be made." "The bottom line is Iran's never going to have a nuclear weapon," he added.

(Source: Reuters)