Pakistan Sets Timeline for U.S.-Iran Deal Signing, Trump Signals Text Finalized Within a Day

Pakistan’s foreign minister said the electronic signing of an agreement between the United States and Iran is scheduled for tomorrow, according to a report aired Saturday. The timeline was discussed in a call with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, and the arrangement appears to be a memorandum of understanding that can be signed remotely, without senior officials from Tehran or Washington present.

At the same time, Donald Trump amplified a post by Pakistan’s prime minister saying the final version of the agreement would be completed within 24 hours and then signed with Iran. In the post, the signing was described as an electronic process, which would allow the deal to be finalized without an in-person ceremony.

Trump also told Channel 12 on Friday that he still believed a deal with Iran could be signed over the weekend or on Monday. His remarks suggested the crisis that escalated on Friday between the United States and Iran, after Iranian media reports about the deal’s details, had eased for now.

According to an American official, Trump spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu late Thursday night and told him, “This is the deal, it’s a great deal and it’s time to end this war.” The official said Netanyahu had not been briefed in advance on Trump’s announcement the previous evening and was surprised by it. “Bibi did not say much in the call. He probably understood there would be a deal and that he had no ability to stop it,” the official said.