Iran Says US Deal Is Still Not Imminent Despite Progress in Talks

by Ali Hassan

Link to Tehran says negotiations with Washington have advanced on several points, including a possible ceasefire extension and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but warns that no agreement is ready to be signedTehran says negotiations with Washington have advanced on several points, including a possible ceasefire extension and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but warns that no agreement is ready to be signed

Iran has said that talks with the United States have made progress, but insisted that a deal is not imminent, despite suggestions from Washington that an agreement could soon be reached.

Speaking in Tehran on Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said the two sides had reached conclusions on a significant part of the issues under discussion. However, he cautioned against interpreting that progress as a sign that a formal agreement was close.

“To say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim,” Baqai said.

The comments came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Delhi that an announcement could possibly come soon. Rubio said Washington had expected news the previous night and that developments might still follow, though he warned against reading too much into the timing.

The draft memorandum reportedly under discussion includes a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a framework for further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

President Donald Trump had suggested over the weekend that the two sides were close to a deal, before later saying he had told negotiators not to rush. He has repeatedly said any agreement must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a goal Tehran says it does not have.

The pace of diplomacy appears to have been complicated by the condition and location of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. US intelligence reportedly believes he is in hiding at an undisclosed location after being wounded in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war, in which his father and predecessor was killed. That situation is said to be slowing communications between Tehran’s leadership and its negotiators.

The potential deal would not represent a final settlement. Several of the most sensitive issues are expected to be left for later talks, including the timing and scope of sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds and US demands for Iran to limit its nuclear activities.

A key part of the talks concerns the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Iran has been restricting access to the strait since the conflict began, while the US has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports.

Hopes of a deal pushed oil prices lower on Monday and lifted Asian stock markets. However, shipping experts have warned that even if an agreement is announced, global supply chains would not return to normal immediately. Companies are expected to remain cautious before making major operational changes.

The reported terms have also divided Trump’s Republican Party. Some senior Republicans have criticised the proposal as too soft on Iran, arguing that a 60-day ceasefire could undermine what the US and Israel achieved through military action.

Trump dismissed the criticism, saying any agreement with Iran would either be “great and meaningful” or there would be no deal at all.

The conflict began on 28 February, when the US and Israel launched major strikes on Iran, triggering a wider regional confrontation. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US-allied Gulf states and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, sending global oil prices sharply higher.

Soon after a ceasefire was agreed in early April, the US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has said the measure will remain in place until an agreement is reached, certified and signed.

Iran’s nuclear programme remains at the centre of the dispute. At the start of the war, Tehran was believed to hold around 440kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity, close to the level from which weapons-grade material can be produced.

Trump said on Monday that Iran’s enriched uranium should either be handed over immediately to the United States or destroyed in coordination with Tehran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, told state television that Iran was ready to reassure the world it was not seeking a nuclear weapon.

L'articolo Iran Says US Deal Is Still Not Imminent Despite Progress in Talks proviene da Associated Medias.