Iran, US are closer to a deal to end the war: officials
The United States and Iran are close to agreeing to a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, officials say, as America weighs a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Iran has signaled “differences are diminishing” in negotiations with the US after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in India that “some progress has been made” and that “more news could come later today.”
Officials and a diplomat expressed hope that a final decision on the draft prepared by Pakistan could be made within 48 hours after both sides review it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
They said Vice President J.D. Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner played key roles in closing the remaining gaps, and Qatar played a key role by sending a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
Still, both Iran and the United States have emphasized their key positions and warned of risks of renewed attacks.
Iranian state television quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a “framework agreement”.
“We want to include in this the main issues needed to end the imposed war and other issues that are vital to us. The details are then discussed within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days and ultimately a final agreement is reached,” he said.
He said that the Strait of Hormuz was also among the issues discussed.
According to Iran’s official IRNA news agency, Baghaei said that the positions have become closer in recent days.
“The trend last week has been to narrow the spreads,” he said.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the next three or four days.”
Baghaei said nuclear issues were not part of the current talks as Tehran sought to end the war before discussing its nuclear program, which has long been at the center of international tensions.
“Our focus at this stage is to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” Baghaei said.
Lifting sanctions against Tehran was “explicitly included in the text and remains our firm position”.
“Even as I speak to you right now, there’s some work being done. There’s a possibility we’ll have something to say, whether it’s today, tomorrow, or in a few days,” Rubio said in New Delhi.
He reiterated the US position that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and must surrender its highly enriched uranium and keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
According to state television, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said in a statement after his meeting with Pakistani Marshal Asim Munir that Iran is rebuilding military assets after weeks of war and a fragile ceasefire.
Kalibaf, the chief negotiator of the historic face-to-face talks with the United States last month, also said that if US President Donald Trump continues the attacks, the result will be “more crushing and more painful” than at the beginning of the war.
Trump had previously said he was postponing a military strike on Iran because “serious negotiations” were ongoing and at the request of his allies in the Middle East.
Trump repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backtracked.
The USA and Israel ignited the war with their attacks on February 28 and cut short the talks with Iran.
Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.
The U.S. subsequently blockaded Iranian ports, and on Saturday U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 merchant ships and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.
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