President Donald Trump headed to Camp David on Friday for a weekend of policy and political meetings as negotiations with Iran move toward an inflection point, a White House official told Military Times.
Trump, speaking at an event unveiling a new Air Force One aircraft, said that if Tehran fails to agree to a final deal with Washington within the 60-day negotiating window, “We will do things that won’t make them happy.” He added, “I don’t think it’s going to get to that. I think it’s going to be very good.”
The president signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night, establishing a two-month period for deliberations focused in part on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. It was later co-signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The MOU provides for the reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz, a key objective for Trump. The president has emphasized the positive response of U.S. financial markets to this news, and has suggested that little would be achieved by further bombing.
Critics — including some Republican lawmakers — contend the deal is too soft on Iran and leaves several key U.S. aims unmet. At the same time, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has boasted that Trump had to make a deal “out of desperation.”
Attention has since shifted to Switzerland, where Vice President JD Vance was expected to lead an American delegation for further talks with the Iranians. But the White House said Thursday night that Vance was postponing the trip — an unexpected twist that raised questions about the next round of diplomacy.
Iran, meanwhile, said it was seeking guarantees that the conflict in Lebanon would cease. Israel invaded southern Lebanon earlier this year and has carried out numerous air strikes amid its battles with Hezbollah. The Lebanese Health Ministry says that almost 4,000 people have been killed since early March.
Despite the MOU calling for a suspension of hostilities across all fronts — including in Lebanon — Israel and Hezbollah militants on Friday had the second deadliest night of fighting since the current escalation began.
Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said in a statement. Israel reported that four of its own soldiers were killed overnight. U.S. officials announced soon after that an immediate truce had been reached between Israel and Hezbollah.
The issue of Lebanon has cast an increasingly long shadow over Trump’s efforts to make peace with Iran, however.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war against Iran alongside Trump on Feb. 28, has criticized Washington’s interim agreement with Tehran as overly permissive and has insisted he will act independently in response. But Iran has indicated it could, even now, walk away from the nascent peace process if Trump does not rein in Netanyahu.
These will be among the issues playing on Trump’s mind as he makes his weekend visit to the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains — only his second Camp David trip since he returned to power in January 2025. He will be joined by family members on Sunday for Father’s Day, according to a White House official.
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
