E-Paper
Trump says US-Iran deal ‘largely negotiated’: What does the proposed agreement include?
The announcement came after the Trump spoke to leaders of several Gulf nations, and held a call separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
United States President Donald Trump late on Saturday said an agreement between the US and Iran had been “largely negotiated”, adding that final details would be announced “shortly”.
This came after the US President spoke to leaders of several Gulf nations, and held a call separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump said the “final aspects” of the proposal were under discussion, with a US official telling Axios that the deal had nearly been finished barring some gaps in the “wording” of several points.
Trump spoke to leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, wherein the leaders urged the US President to take the deal which was on the table.
What do we know about the proposed agreement?
Trump's post on Truth Social is one of the firmest statements he had made signaling his willingness to agree to a memorandum of understanding being negotiated between US and Iran, and mediated by countries including Pakistan and Qatar.
According to a report by Axios, the deal if agreed upon by both Washington and Tehran would end the war in West Asia and facilitate the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The strait was supposed to open under the temporary ceasefire agreed to by both sides earlier, but remained effectively closely to normal shipping with Tehran citing “violations” of the truce.
The proposed agreement would also launch at least 30 days of more detailed negotiations on issues including Iran's nuclear program. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei had earlier today said the nuclear issue was not part of the talks at this stage. The mediators have expressed hope to conclude the one-page framework agreement and announce it on Sunday, following which negotiations would be initiated regarding a detailed agreement, Axios reported citing a regional source.
The deal would allegedly include an official declaration of the war's end with two months of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, a regional official told the Associated Press earlier on Saturday, requesting anonymity.
However, the official also cautioned that any “last-minute disputes” could damage efforts to reach peace. This is not the first time in recent weeks that the US and Iran have come close to an agreement. Trump and his advisers had thought, several times during the earlier stages of the conflict, that they were close to a deal. However, no such agreement could be reached. According to Axios, Israeli PM Netanyahu is also “highly skeptical” of the deal which is on the table. However, Trump in his recent post said his phone call with Netanyahu went “very well.”
