US moving forward with signing ceremony plans, but deal still needs final approval from Iran, sources say

The Trump administration is moving forward with initial plans to hold a signing ceremony in Geneva as soon as this weekend, but despite President Donald Trump’s comments on Thursday, there’s still no indication that the Iran’s supreme leader has approved the terms of the deal, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

The draft deal has been approved at high levels of the Iranian regime — but this same rank of Iranian leaders previously accepted the terms of a draft memorandum of understanding late last month when negotiators from both sides believed they were close to an agreement, a U.S. official and another source tell News.

At that time, Trump added additional nuclear provisions to the agreement that appeared to stall progress with the Iranians. The draft deal currently on the table still includes versions of these demands, including a commitment to address Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but the language on that term has been softened somewhat, the sources said.

Trump pushed back against Iran on Friday, calling Iran’s alleged attack of an Indian ship leaving the Strait of Hormuz “unacceptable.”

“They better get their act together, and FAST,” Trump warned in a post on social media.

Trump also pushed back against claims Iran had made regarding a potential peace deal.

“The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with,” Trump said.