President Donald Trump said that a deal with Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been ‘largely negotiated’ following calls with Israel and other nations in the region.
Trump said: ‘Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.’
He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
He described it as a ‘Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE’, adding that the deal has yet to be finalised by the US, Iran and the other countries that participated in Saturday’s talks.
There was no mention of Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, both of which have been at the center of the conflict.
Trump said talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ‘very well’.
A regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts said earlier on Saturday that the two countries had closed in on a deal after the US weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cautioned that ‘last-minute disputes’ could blow up the efforts.
He said the potential deal would include an official declaration of the end of the war and that there would be discussions in future of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, and the US would end its blockade of Iran’s ports.
Meanwhile, Tehran had signalled ‘narrowing differences’ in negotiations with the US after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in the Iranian capital, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that ‘there’s been some progress made’ and ‘there may be news later today’.
Both Iran and the US emphasised their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire.
Rubio repeated the US’s stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be opened.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said: ‘We want this [deal] to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us.
‘Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 and 60 days, details are discussed, and ultimately a final agreement is reached.’
Mr Baghaei told Iran’s official IRNA news agency: ‘Over the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences.’
He added that nuclear issues are not part of the current negotiations.
‘Our focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,’ he said.
There is a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, a conflict that began two days after the Iran war started.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the US last month in Islamabad, said Iran has rebuilt its military assets and if Trump resumes attacks, the result would be ‘more crushing and more bitter’ than at the start of the war.
Trump earlier said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because ‘serious negotiations’ were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East.
The US President has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. The US and Israel sparked the war with attacks on February 28, cutting short nuclear talks with Iran.
Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertiliser, causing global economic pain.
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