The agreement reopens the Strait of Hormuz, has the backing of a dozen nations, and will be signed by whoever is free that day.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the Iran peace deal is all but done, that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen the moment the agreement is signed, and that he will not be attending the signing, which could occur in Europe this weekend, while the president hosts a UFC fight on his lawn.
“I won’t be able to be there, but JD will be there,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to Vice President JD Vance, who will represent the United States at the conclusion of a war the United States started. Asked separately by boxer Jake Paul whether he would attend the cage fight, the president confirmed that he would.
The Iran peace deal itself was described by the president Thursday as a “very strong memorandum of understanding that is a little conceptual” and, the same afternoon, as “a very detailed memorandum of understanding.” Under its terms, the naval blockade of the strait lifts at signing, a step the president predicted would send oil prices down sharply. The deal has reportedly been approved by the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and roughly a dozen other nations, several of which are expected to send their heads of state.
Iran Peace Deal Yields Scheduling to the Claw
The conflict on the president’s calendar is UFC Freedom 250, a seven-fight card headlined by lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and interim champion Justin Gaethje, to be staged Sunday on the South Lawn. Sunday is also the president’s 80th birthday. The bouts will take place beneath the Claw, a 92-foot lighting structure built by a Belgian firm, shipped to Philadelphia for testing, and trucked to Washington, where it now dwarfs the White House. Marine One has been grounded for the duration. The UFC is reportedly covering some $60 million in costs, including $700,000 to re-sod the South Lawn, capping a tense week for Washington turf. Motorcycle stuntman Travis Pastrana will perform a dirt-bike backflip at the White House on Saturday as a warm-up.
The president departs for the G7 summit in France the day after the fight, placing him in Europe approximately 24 hours after the signing he is unable to attend there. Two Virginia residents have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the event over permitting, and the Secretary of State has signed a public-private partnership with the UFC. The president has suggested the arena may simply stay, telling reporters “maybe we’ll never, ever take it down.”
Critics, including UFC commentator Joe Rogan, have called the event a gimmick and a security risk. In an interview with TIME, the president considered the charge and ruled on it: “it is a gimmick. Life is a gimmick, if you think about it.”
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