Iran and US Closing in on Deal: Reports

Iran said on Wednesday it was reviewing a new US proposal, according to media reports. Washington and Tehran are also reportedly closing in on a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Gulf while leaving tricky issues such as Iran’s nuclear program for later.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, cited by Iran’s ISNA news agency, said Iran would convey its response soon via Pakistan, which hosted negotiations between the US and Iran last month and has been  the main conduit for messages between the sides

In an early morning social media post, US President Donald Trump  said the war could end if “Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to” without going into any details. He later told the New York Post it was still too soon to consider face-to-face meetings to sign an agreement.

Read Also: Pakistan still seeks to bridge US, Iran gaps despite failure of face-to-face talks

According to Reuters Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation confirmed information initially reported by the US media outlet Axios about a proposed 14-point, one-page memorandum that would formally end the war.

The memorandum would be followed by discussions to unblock shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lift US sanctions on Iran and agree curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, the sources said.

“We will close this very soon. We are getting close,” said the source from Pakistan.

Reports of the possible agreement caused global oil prices to plunge, with benchmark Brent crude futures falling around 11 percent to around $98 a barrel LCOc1. Global share prices also leapt and bond yields fell on optimism of an end to a war that has disrupted energy supplies.

In his morning post, Trump said: “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”

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“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Trump added.

Hours earlier, Trump paused a two-day-old naval mission to reopen the blockaded strait, citing progress in peace talks.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by saying that if US “threats” had ended, passage through the strait would be possible under new terms it was putting in place, without giving details.

The source briefed on the mediation said the US negotiations were being led by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. If both sides agreed on the preliminary deal, that would start the clock on 30 days of detailed negotiations to reach a full agreement.

The full agreement would include the US lifting sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian funds, Iran and the United States lifting competing blockades on the Strait of Hormuz, and some curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, with the aim of a pause or moratorium on Iranian enrichment of uranium.

While the sources said the memorandum would not initially require concessions from either side, they did not mention several key demands Washington has made in the past, which Iran has rejected, such as curbs on Iran’s missile program and an end to its support for proxy militias in the Middle East.

The sources spoke of potential curbs on future Iranian enrichment of uranium, but made no mention of Iran’s existing stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of it, already enriched to near weapons grade, which Washington has previously demanded it give up before any end to the war.

And even if the reported text appeared to sidestep some demands rejected by Iran in the past, there were indications Tehran could still hold out for more US concessions.

In a post on X, lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee, described the text reported by Axios as “more of an American wish list than a reality.”

“The Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations,” he wrote.

Read Also: Trump agrees to two-week ceasefire, Iran says safe passage through Hormuz possible

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, visiting China, made no mention of Trump’s latest remarks, but said Tehran was holding out for “a fair and comprehensive agreement.”

Earlier, Trump cited “great progress” in negotiations to announce a pause to “Project Freedom,” a mission he had announced two days earlier to guide ships through the blocked strait.

The mission failed to bring about any significant resumption of traffic through the waterway, while provoking a new wave of Iranian strikes on ships in the strait and targets in neighboring countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates.

In the latest incident, a French shipping company reported on Wednesday that one of its container ships had been struck in the strait the previous day, and injured crew had been evacuated.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has said Tehran’s response to US views on its 14-point proposal has not yet been conveyed to Pakistan, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Wednesday.

The proposal has been part of indirect exchanges between the two sides, with Pakistan acting as a mediator in transmitting messages.

Iranian officials have previously said they are reviewing the US response delivered through the same channel, but have not confirmed any final reply.