No Deal. Not Yet.

Friday's Situation Room meeting was supposed to be the moment. Two hours in, Trump walked out without signing anything.

A White House official told Breitbart News the meeting lasted roughly two hours and ended with the president unmoved from his core position: Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, period. The New York Times, citing a senior administration official, confirmed Trump "did not reach a decision on any new deal."

Vice President JD Vance had already telegraphed the uncertainty Thursday evening, telling reporters according to the Associated Press: "It's hard to say exactly when or if the president's going to sign. We're going back and forth on a couple of language points."

Language points. On a war that's closed the Strait of Hormuz to roughly 80% of normal traffic and sent oil prices spiking globally.

What the Tentative Deal Actually Says

The framework negotiators put on the table — what Al Arabiya is calling the "Islamabad Declaration" according to the Jerusalem Post — would do the following:

• Extend the ceasefire 60 days
• Reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian tolls
• Require Iran to clear its mines from the strait within 30 days
• Open a new negotiating window on Iran's nuclear program
• Have the U.S. lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions to allow limited oil sales

What it does NOT do: resolve the enriched uranium question. That's the ballgame, and both sides know it.

Iran denied agreeing to hand over any enriched uranium, telling Reuters the nuclear issue "is not part of the preliminary agreement." That denial came days after the New York Times reported Iran had expressed willingness to give up a portion of its stockpile. Someone is lying, or both sides are negotiating through the press — which is its own problem.

The UAE Air Campaign

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the UAE conducted dozens of airstrikes against Iran, in close coordination with the U.S. and Israel, including strikes on Qeshm Island, Abu Musa Island, Bandar Abbas, the Lavan Island oil refinery, and the Asaluyeh petrochemical complex.

Some of those strikes reportedly continued after the April ceasefire announcement.

The Asaluyeh joint strike is particularly significant. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at the time that "Israel acted alone against the Asaluyeh gas compound." According to the Journal, that was NOT true — the UAE was in on it.

The revelation shows the coalition against Iran during this war was larger and deeper than any government publicly admitted. It also explains why Iran launched more than 2,800 missiles and drones at the UAE — more than at any other country, including Israel, according to the Journal's reporting.

It also exposed a serious Gulf crack: Saudi Arabia privately complained to Washington in early April that UAE operations risked triggering broader Iranian retaliation against regional energy infrastructure. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declined to participate in coordinated military action. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed reportedly became frustrated with Riyadh as a result.

The Abraham Accords, brokered by Trump in 2020, are clearly functioning as a real military alliance now — not just a diplomatic handshake.

Treasury Keeps Squeezing

While diplomats talk, the Treasury Department is not waiting around. Secretary Scott Bessent announced new sanctions Thursday under what the department is calling Operation Economic Fury — the financial arm of the broader Operation Epic Fury military campaign.

The sanctions hit eight ships and more than 15 corporate entities involved in Iranian oil sales, with targets in Hong Kong, Singapore, Qatar, the Marshall Islands, China, India, and the UAE. The primary target was Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, described by Treasury as "the oil sales arm of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff."

Bessent put it plainly: "We will not allow the Iranian government to increase its oil revenue for the purpose of reconstituting its armed forces."

This came one day after Treasury sanctioned Iran's new Strait of Hormuz toll-collection agency — the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, created by the IRGC — and warned that any ship or company that pays Iran's tolls risks triggering secondary U.S. sanctions against themselves.

Ships Going Dark Through the Strait

The Wall Street Journal separately reported that a small number of vessels, including large oil and gas tankers, are making the Hormuz transit "dark" — turning off lights and automatic navigation systems — with U.S. military assistance. The strait that once carried roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas is running at a fraction of capacity.

Treasury's Bessent predicted oil prices could "come down very quickly" once a deal is finalized. That's a big IF.

Israel's Bottom Line: Deal or We're Back

Israeli Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman was unambiguous this week, telling Iran International that if diplomacy fails to deliver "zero enrichment, zero enriched uranium in Iran" and a halt to ballistic missile development, Israel may "have to go back to the military campaign in order to attain the objectives."

Netanyahu confirmed Friday that Israeli troops have crossed north of the Litani River in Lebanon — pushing deeper into Hezbollah territory. Iran has insisted that any deal must include a ceasefire against its Lebanese proxies. Israel has shown no sign of agreeing to that.

What the Political Spin Gets Wrong

Sen. Cory Booker appeared on CNN Friday to argue Trump blew up a stable pre-existing arrangement — claiming Iran's Supreme Leader had a fatwa against nuclear weapons and that inspections were working under the old framework. Booker's framing conveniently ignores that Iran was accelerating uranium enrichment to 60% and 84% purity under that same framework, well beyond any civilian energy need. IAEA reports document that the JCPOA was not holding.

Right-leaning coverage, meanwhile, has largely sidestepped the uncomfortable reality that Trump's Situation Room meeting produced NOTHING concrete on Friday. The meeting happened. No deal was signed. That's the story.

Where It Stands

A war that closed one of the world's most critical waterways, drew in three countries' air forces, and sent global energy markets into chaos is now hanging on "a couple of language points." The Strait carries a fifth of global oil trade. Every day it stays effectively closed costs the world economy billions.

Trump's redlines are clear. Iran's denials are clear. The gap between them on the nuclear question is NOT small.

Someone has to move. So far, nobody has.