Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker told Newsmax on Friday that while President Donald Trump's emerging agreement with Iran could prevent a return to active combat, Americans should not mistake the deal for a lasting resolution to the conflict.

Speaking on Newsmax's "Wake Up America," Volker said reports of a pending agreement appear credible, especially amid indications that Vice President JD Vance could travel to Europe for a signing ceremony.

"I think that there will be some kind of memorandum of understanding signed," he said. "And we're going to avoid returning to the hot phase of this war for now."

Trump said Thursday that negotiators are close to finalizing an agreement that would ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon and would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

But Volker cautioned that Tehran's long-term ambitions have not changed.

"This is far from over," he said. "The Iranians still want to control the Strait of Hormuz and extract fees from ships that are passing through there, and they want to have a nuclear weapon, and they're going to lie about it and try to maintain the idea of enrichment so that they can plan on this in the future."

Volker said the administration's efforts could still produce important near-term gains by avoiding a wider conflict and restoring stability to global markets.

"We can get enough now that we avoid a war that the American people don't want, and we avoid tanking global markets," he said. "But we have a long way to go before we actually see a free and open strait and a non-nuclear Iran."

The former ambassador’s comments came after U.S. officials reported that Iran attempted to target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, prompting American forces to shoot down two Iranian drones.

Volker said such actions are consistent with both sides attempting to project strength as negotiations move toward a cease-fire.

Still, he warned that any agreement would leave the Iranian regime fundamentally unchanged.

"This regime is the same regime that we started with," Volker said. "They are a theological, repressive regime for the Iranian people. They are a threat to their neighbors. They're a threat to shipping. They're a threat to Israel."

He also praised Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's warning that Iranian assets could be used to compensate U.S. allies harmed by Tehran's actions, calling it a sharp contrast to policies pursued by previous administrations.

"There's no reason to be giving this regime that money," Volker said. "We should give it to the Gulf allies to rebuild what the Iranians destroyed."

Looking ahead, Volker said the clearest sign the agreement is working will be the return of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

"If that is happening, that's telling you that the Iranians have decided to let this agreement work for a while," he said.

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