Israel disclaims any part in the deal, Iran calls the reports "speculative," and a pattern of similar announcements that did not materialise frames the Oval Office declaration.
Trump declared a "great settlement" of the Iran war from the Oval Office on Thursday, according to BBC reporting, and posted that he had cancelled planned strikes on the country. Hours earlier the same day, he had warned he would hit Iran "very hard". Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state television that reports of an agreement were "speculative" and that "nothing has been finalised". That three-way asymmetry, between Trump's announcement, Tehran's flat denial, and Israel's insistence that it is "not a party to the memorandum of understanding," is the actual news. Neither claim alone carries the story.
The announcement lands inside a documented rhythm. The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February 2026. Iran retaliated against Israel and US-allied Gulf states and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for world oil and liquefied natural gas. The two sides agreed a ceasefire in April, then exchanged intermittent fire in the months since. Trump has previously made similar claims that the two countries were close to a deal, claims that did not resolve as announced. The current "great settlement" statement follows that pattern, and the pattern is the context a reader needs to weigh it.
The more durable signal is the Israeli prime minister's office response, which cast Israel as "not a party to the memorandum of understanding" and laid out separate terms: removal of enriched material, dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, and limits on missiles. Any settlement that does not address those items is not a settlement Israel recognises. The Israeli disavowal is what turns an Oval Office announcement into a three-cornered negotiation problem. The Strait of Hormuz opening, Trump said, is attached to the signing rather than already accomplished, which means it is a contingent claim, not a fait accompli.
The Iranian government's posture is its own variable. Baghaei's "nothing has been finalised" line is an official position delivered through state media, and as of 11 June 2026 it is the most recent on-record Iranian statement. The Iranian negotiating posture has shifted before, and the next briefing could narrow or widen the gap. What readers can do is hold the two statements side by side, watch for a written text, watch for an Israeli read-out, and watch the Strait of Hormuz for traffic.
The single fact that will resolve the gap is the document itself. Until it surfaces, the "great settlement" claim, the "nothing has been finalised" rebuttal, and the Israeli non-party status are three positions in search of a text. The next Israeli read-out, the next Iranian briefing, and any draft of the memorandum will move the story faster than another Oval Office declaration.