Trump seeks changes to Iran deal over Hormuz, uranium removal

Donald Trump has zeroed in on two changes that would determine whether a tentative Iran deal is a real breakthrough or a political reset: reopening the Strait of Hormuz and forcing the removal of Iran’s highly enriched uranium. CBS News said Trump made “somewhat significant changes” to the memorandum of understanding, and the edits centered on those two issues, the exact pressure points that would shape oil flows, nuclear leverage and the credibility of any enforcement plan.

The broader framework under discussion called for a 60-day cessation of violence and a later round of nuclear talks, with immediate diplomacy aimed at easing the conflict before the most sensitive issues were settled. Reuters reported Trump said on May 29, 2026, that he would soon decide on the proposal, but by Sunday afternoon, May 31, no final decision had been announced. CBS News said Pakistan-led mediators were carrying the back-and-forth between Washington and Tehran, while the White House had not responded to requests for comment.

The Strait of Hormuz is the deal’s most immediate economic fault line. The channel handles roughly one-fifth of global oil trade, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it had been effectively closed to shipping traffic since the conflict began. The agency described that closure as one of the largest supply disruptions in the history of the global oil market, a judgment that helps explain why crude prices, tanker insurance and regional shipping risk have remained so volatile. Even if the strait formally reopens, analysts and energy officials have warned that traffic may not quickly return to normal because mines, security checks and insurance reassessments can linger long after the fighting eases.

The uranium demand is the other make-or-break issue. Reporting has put Iran’s stockpile at about 970 pounds, or roughly 440 kilograms, enriched to 60 percent, far below weapons-grade but much closer to it than the 3 percent to 5 percent used in civilian reactors. CBS News said Trump’s post on Truth Social demanded that the strait be reopened and that Iran work with the United States to have its highly enriched uranium “DESTROYED.” Other reporting indicated Trump told Israel the stockpile would be sent out of Iran or destroyed, while Iranian sources said Tehran did not want it to leave the country.

That tension goes to the heart of the talks. If the uranium question is pushed into a later phase while sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian assets move first, the deal may buy time but not resolve the core nuclear dispute. If Trump is tightening the terms to improve leverage, the changes could strengthen enforcement credibility. If he is simply redrawing the politics, they could make an already fragile ceasefire harder to sell in both Washington and Tehran.