Saturday, the deal was "largely negotiated." Wednesday, it isn't.
President Trump's two-paragraph update from a White House cabinet meeting just took some of the air out of the room. Speaking to reporters, Trump said the US is "not satisfied yet" on Iran but added that it will be.
He also told PBS News that Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up its highly enriched uranium stockpile.
Trump's May 23 social media post sketched a framework: a reopened Strait of Hormuz, a memorandum of understanding as a first step, and broader talks within 30 to 60 days. He listed calls with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Israel.
Iran's response was less enthusiastic. Iran's Fars news agency called the framing "incomplete and inconsistent with reality."
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had not agreed to hand over its uranium stockpile, and said the nuclear question was not part of the early agreement.
That set up the gap Trump is now talking around.
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The first issue is enriched uranium. Trump told PBS News that Iran will not get sanctions relief for surrendering it.
That contradicts a Financial Times report that the deal under discussion would ease sanctions and unfreeze Iranian assets in exchange for nuclear concessions.
The second issue is the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said no single nation will control the waterway, calling it "international waters."
Iran's Fars news agency said the latest text exchanged between the two sides still keeps the Strait under Iranian management. Trump also said Iran is "negotiating on fumes," a line that read more like a confidence signal than a peace signal.
Energy markets and US inflation have been moving on Iran-deal odds since the war started on February 28. The fragile ceasefire that's held since April 8 has been punctuated by skirmishes around the Strait.
Gulf states have called this the worst global energy crisis in decades.
Last weekend's "largely negotiated" framing read as bullish for a faster resolution. Wednesday's walkback is the reverse signal.
The shape of a deal is visible: nuclear framework, sanctions relief, MOU now, broader talks later. The hard part is unchanged.
Iran isn't giving up its uranium stockpile, and it isn't giving up the Strait.
Trump's confidence and Tehran's silence have been moving energy prices in the same direction for weeks. The gap between them is now public.
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