US President Donald Trump on Friday told Axios’ Barak Ravid that he still thinks a deal with Iran could be signed over the weekend or on Monday.
Trump also told Ravid he had demanded the Iranians to issue a public clarification over reports in their state media on the details of the deal, which he earlier clarified were not true.
The conversation with Ravid came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that an agreement with the US to extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program "has never been closer."
“The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer. Pending its finalization, the media should refrain from entering speculation about its content," Araghchi wrote in a post on social media.
“In line with our responsible and transparent approach, all details will be shared with the public in due course," he added.
Responding to Araghchi’s post, Trump told Ravid that he considered the post "very positive".
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the talks between the US and Iran, wrote on social media on Friday, “We can confirm that a final, agreed-upon text of the peace deal has been reached, and Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps. Peace has never been this close as it is now."
“Amid ongoing intense mediation efforts by Pakistan, we are fully aware of an incessant misinformation campaign being waged by those who want to sabotage the peace deal," he added.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)