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Iran's acting defense minister warned Sunday that "new surprises are on the way," as Tehran signaled it intends to submit its own amendments to a proposed framework agreement after President Trump toughened the terms of the draft deal and sent them back to the country for consideration.
According to three officials cited by The New York Times, Trump has stiffened the conditions of a potential framework intended to end the war between the two countries, returning the revised text to Iranian counterparts for review. Hours later, IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that Iran would respond in kind, introducing its own changes to the agreement's language.
The acting defense minister's blunt warning, reported Sunday via Tasnim, came as Tehran showed no intention of absorbing Washington's revisions without pushback. The statement offered no specifics, but the use of language promising "new surprises" suggested Iran views the exchange as leverage, not merely a procedural step in the negotiations.
The development marks a fresh complication in talks that have moved in fits and starts, with both sides trading competing interpretations of what any agreement must contain before it can be finalized.
The Trump administration has repeatedly sought stronger guarantees on Iran's nuclear material, particularly around the handling and timing of its enriched uranium stockpile, as a condition for moving forward. Iran has pushed back on several of those demands, with state media previously describing certain U.S. positions as contradicting the terms already under discussion.
The standoff over amendments lands as both governments have indicated they are close to a framework agreement, yet remain unable to lock in mutually acceptable language, with each side now signaling a willingness to rewrite what the other has already accepted.
With Iran promising further modifications and Washington's revised terms still under Iranian consideration, the outlook for the agreement remains unresolved as the week begins. Officials have suggested the process of exchanging responses could take several days, leaving the framework in limbo while both governments stake out positions on core provisions.
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