US-Iran Ceasefire Deal Still in Limbo After Trump's Last-Minute Demands

So here's where things stand: the US and Iran were basically this close to a deal — and then Trump blew it up at the last minute. Or at least, that's what it looks like from the outside.

To back up: on February 28, 2026, the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran, marking the start of a war that has now been grinding on for three months. On April 7, Iran and the US announced a temporary ceasefire. But it's been a rocky one. The US has cast its strikes as being within the bounds of the ceasefire agreement, but Iran condemned the attacks as a violation — and US and Iranian forces have previously exchanged fire during the ceasefire.

This week, it looked like the two sides were finally turning a corner. US and Iranian negotiators had reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) — think of it as a temporary framework — to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. A White House official confirmed the deal existed. Diplomats were cautiously optimistic.

Then Friday happened. Trump made a series of demands — on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear program, and the unfreezing of Iranian assets held overseas — that did not go down well in Tehran. Trump ended a meeting in the White House Situation Room without announcing his final decision on whether to approve the deal, after earlier saying on Truth Social he would be making his "final determination" during that meeting.

Here's why this matters to you personally: the conflict has set off what Gulf states called the worst global energy crisis in decades, with higher energy prices in the US feeding rising inflation and expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to increase interest rates. That means higher prices at the pump and, pretty much everywhere else.

The Strait of Hormuz is the single biggest chokepoint for the world's oil supply, and it's been effectively shut down. Both sides regard agreement on navigation through the waterway as a first step, after three months of paralysis that has caused a sharp spike in the price of crude oil and other commodities.

So what does Trump actually want? A lot. Iran "must agree" to never have a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz must be "immediately open" to unrestricted shipping traffic, with no tolls being imposed. He also stated that enriched nuclear material buried at the site of last year's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities will be "unearthed" by the US and destroyed. And crucially, "no money will be exchanged, until further notice," Trump added — meaning Iran won't see any of the billions in frozen assets it's been demanding.

Iran's reaction? Not great. Iranian state news outlet Fars pushed back on Trump's post, saying it "raised issues that contradict the provisions of the agreement's text." Mohsen Rezaee, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader, said Trump is "betraying diplomacy" and accused him of "making excessive demands" while "pursuing other objectives."

Adding fuel to the fire: there's a whole separate war front complicating everything. The intensifying combat between Israel and Hezbollah may put at risk any agreement between the US and Iran, which is insisting that it include a ceasefire in Lebanon. Trump told Netanyahu last week that he supported Israel's "freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon." Iran sees that as a direct contradiction of what it's asking for.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire itself is held together with duct tape. Whenever there are potential violations, the US appears anxious to avoid resuming the war and eager to cut a deal — but that reluctance appears to be undermining its negotiating leverage with Tehran.

Bottom line: the MOU is still, at best, a work in progress. Both sides want out of this conflict, but they want very different things from a deal — and the gap just got wider.