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US President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged that he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran. In an interview broadcast on Fox News on Saturday night, Trump told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump: "The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They've agreed to that, and it was very interesting."

The comments came as The New York Times and Axios reported on Saturday that Trump had sent a revised framework for Iran's consideration with "tougher" terms, though it was not immediately clear what those terms entailed. According to reporting carried by Dawn and The Hindu, any changes to the proposal could prolong an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of diplomatic efforts punctuated by fractious rhetoric and occasional flare-ups of armed conflict.

Trump has said his priorities for any deal include preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and reopening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. But his latest remarks struck a less urgent tone than earlier statements from US officials suggesting a deal was close. "I'm in no hurry," he said in the same interview. "Slowly but surely we're getting, I think, what we want and if we don't get what we want..."

Coverage Comparison

Dawn and The Hindu, two English-language dailies with a South Asian readership, carried near-identical accounts of the developments, leading with Trump's assertion of Iranian guarantees and the reported new US proposal. Both framed the situation as closely tied to the continuing Israel-Lebanon conflict, with Beirut accusing Israel of a "scorched-earth policy" as its forces advanced and launched further airstrikes.

The coverage attributed the broader crisis to competing US and Iranian blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, which both outlets said had choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices. That framing was consistent across the two reports, as was the emphasis on the gap between Trump's public claims and Tehran's stated positions.

Key Claims

  • Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons. His quote was carried by both Dawn and The Hindu.
  • The New York Times and Axios reported that Trump sent back a "tougher" peace proposal to Iran, though the specifics of the new framework were not disclosed.
  • Iran has said it requires the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before it moves to substantive talks on issues such as its nuclear program.
  • Tehran has insisted that Lebanon must be included in any end to the war despite ongoing fighting.
  • Israel's military issued evacuation warnings for more villages in southern Lebanon, according to both reports.
  • A truce between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed, the reports said.
  • Iran's state-linked media has called Trump's earlier comments that its enriched uranium would be destroyed "baseless," according to Iranian media cited in the reports.
  • Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Washington was "more than capable" of restarting the war if necessary, a claim carried by a single outlet.
  • A separate report, not independently verified, said Iran's Revolutionary Guards had shot down a US military drone that was about to enter Iranian territorial waters to conduct hostile operations.

Perspectives

US position: The White House has framed the negotiations as centered on two core demands: Iran must not develop nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened to maritime traffic. Trump has expressed confidence that a deal can be reached but has also hinted at renewed military action if negotiations fail.

Iranian position: Tehran has publicly cast doubt on Trump's assertions about the state of the talks. It continues to demand the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before engaging in substantive discussions and has rejected US claims about its enriched uranium. Iran also maintains that any agreement must address Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah remains in conflict with Israel.

Regional and global stakes: The competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted international oil supplies and raised global economic concerns. The unresolved Israel-Lebanon front and the fragile, unobserved truce that began on April 17 add further layers of complexity to any potential deal, with the risk of renewed escalation still present.