The draft agreement that President Donald Trump said Iranian leadership had approved is so far an agreement
By Bernard Moerdler,
The draft agreement that President Donald Trump said Iranian leadership had approved is so far an agreement in principle that still requires final approval from Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Axios reported, citing three sources briefed on the talks. Iranian officials told several countries on Thursday that talks in Tehran had produced the agreement in principle, the sources said. The draft would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Tehran has not publicly confirmed Trump's announcement that he cancelled planned strikes on Iran on the basis of the deal.
Negotiations continued late into Wednesday night in Tehran, where Qatari envoy Ali Al-Thawadi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi worked to bridge the remaining gaps between the United States and Iran, Axios reported. The sources said the parties narrowed differences on three issues: the mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets, described as the most important for Tehran; arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire; and how the nuclear negotiations would be conducted during that period. The sources said both the Iranians and the Qataris stressed that the overnight U.S. strikes had significantly increased Iranian suspicions about Trump's intentions.
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Diplomacy
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.