Donald Trump received the 80th birthday gift he had been chasing most last night, as he, Iran and mediator Pakistan all signalled that the two sides are nearer than at any point so far to ending the war.
Officials on both sides are projecting confidence that a deal could be signed on Friday, formally closing the chapter on the conflict and offering badly needed relief to global energy markets.
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President Trump has pushed hard for an agreement with Iran, but his efforts have repeatedly been complicated by exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with a string of “self-defence” disputes that have tested the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
“What the f*** are you doing?” Mr Trump said he told the Israeli Prime Minister at the weekend.
In a display heavy on theatre and symbolism, President Trump sought to cast himself as a victor before the nation — and before the 85,000 people gathered in the park outside the White House for a lavish watch party tied to the events unfolding nearby.
All night, the lighting rig known as ‘the Claw’ glowed red, white and blue while 4,300 people, among them the US president, watched a series of bouts inside the octagon built on the White House’s South Lawn.
Most of the crowd in the park, the Ellipse, were young men, many of them UFC fans.
Donald Trump staged UFC on the White House lawn
The crowd, gathered for the MMA fights, were unconvinced by the peace deal
That voting bloc was widely seen as part of the coalition that helped carry Mr Trump to victory in the presidential election in 2024.
Yet conversations here about the President and a possible deal with Iran revealed a more doubtful mood, with many not prepared to see in him the winner he so clearly believes himself to be.
One man said he would believe in an agreement only when it was in front of him.
“If it’s real, I just hope that everything works out, but I feel like they’ve said it’s a deal multiple times now, so it just makes you wonder, is it real?,” said another man.
That scepticism is hardly surprising. The comments, and the hesitation to take the president at his word, point to one of the clearest political costs of this war.
After months of shifting messages, repeated vows that the war would end soon and a succession of false starts, the US president’s promises no longer carry the force they once did.
The credibility of his words has been badly eroded.
Even Iranian state media noted this week that Mr Trump had said more than 38 times that he was close to ending the war, only for nothing to materialise.
There remains considerable ground to cover before Friday, when both sides are expected to sign in Switzerland, and the process is still littered with obstacles.
Many will want to believe this marks real momentum toward ending the war, but the announcement lands under a cloud of doubt — one likely to deepen the public’s growing mistrust of what politicians say and what they ultimately do.
Read more: US and Iran reach deal to end war, signing set for Friday
