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, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel.
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.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the deal would precede ongoing talks lasting ‘between 30 and 60 days’ to come to a ‘final agreement’ over issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium supply.
‘We want this [deal] to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us,’ he said.
‘Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 and 60 days, details are discussed, and ultimately a final agreement is reached.’
Trump said talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ‘very well’.
But the conflict between the countries isn’t over just yet – both Iran and the US emphasised their key positions in talks on Saturday and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire.
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 progress made so far.
He said the potential deal would include an official declaration of the end of the war.
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, 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’.
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.
Meanwhile, 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.
The war in Iran began with attacks by the US and Israel on February 28 of this year, partly in response to Trump’s growing concerns around the country’s nuclear programme.
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.
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.
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 president has repeatedly set deadlines for reaching an agreement in Tehran, which have then been missed.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.