Trump says Iran deal ‘largely negotiated’, would reopen Strait of Hormuz

Washington and Iran have “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump said, as expectations rose that a turning point might be imminent in the three-month-old war.

Trump posted on social media that the emerging agreement would reopen the strait, the vital shipping passage whose closure has sparked a global energy crisis since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran in February. He did not say what else would be included in an agreement.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

Various media in the U.S. and Iran said the memorandum that could yield an agreement lays out a phased framework for ending months of fighting, reopening the waterway soon and lifting a U.S. blockade on Iran. Plans for Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which Washington has insisted it give up, would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days, the reports said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said more news could come on Sunday and there was a possibility of good news on the strait within hours. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that if Iran’s Supreme National Security Council approved the memorandum, it would be sent to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei for final approval.

But Iran’s Tasnim news agency said differences remained over one or two clauses. Tasnim cited a source as saying there would be no final understanding if the U.S. continued to create obstacles.

IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM IN FOCUS

A deal cementing a fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but would not immediately quell a global energy crisis, which has driven up costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.

Even if the war ends now, full oil ​flows through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of ‌2027, the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm ADNOC said last week.

Axios reported late on Saturday that the U.S. and Iran were close to a deal, which it said would include no tolls on ships transiting the strait, while Iran would be able to freely sell oil.

In exchange, the U.S. would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions on Iranian oil, the U.S. news outlet said, citing a U.S. official.

The draft agreement also includes commitments from Iran never to pursue nuclear weapons, Axios said.

Trump, while offering various war aims during the conflict, has repeatedly said the U.S. struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran has long denied it is pursuing such weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, although the purity it has achieved far exceeds that needed for power generation.

Iran’s Fars news agency said the draft also stipulates that the U.S. and its allies will not attack Iran or its allies, and in return Iran pledges not to launch preemptive attacks on them.

Prominent Israeli politician Benny Gantz said it would be a strategic mistake for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, as part of a deal with Iran.

He posted on X that Israel had an obligation to protect residents near the border and should reject any such proposal by the U.S.

Sources have told Reuters the proposed ‌framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.

One of the Pakistani sources said that if the U.S. accepts the memorandum, further talks could take place after the Muslim Eid holiday ends on Friday.

Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war’s impact on U.S. energy prices, said on Friday he would not attend his son’s wedding this weekend, citing Iran among the reasons for staying in Washington.

Tasnim said any changes in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz were conditional on implementation of other commitments by the U.S. It also said some Iranian funds that have been frozen globally as part of sanctions must be released in the first phase of the deal.

‘ISSUES STILL NEED TO BE DISCUSSED,’ IRAN SAYS

Trump spoke on Saturday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, who encouraged Trump to agree to the emerging framework, Axios reported.

A call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went “very well,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that “the trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators”.

Baghaei said the issue of the U.S. blockade on Iran’s shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new U.S. attacks and the conflict in Lebanon.

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran’s armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that, if the U.S. restarted the war, the consequences would be “more forceful and bitter” than at the start of the conflict.

المصدر: Cyprus Mail