Washington/Tehran: Diplomats from the United States and Iran signalled on Friday that a ceasefire agreement ending their conflict was close, with a senior US administration official saying negotiators had settled on a text and that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days, Reuters reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi cautioned that final adjustments remained possible but portrayed the draft accord as proof that Tehran had emerged stronger from the conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he said on state television.
Under the proposed memorandum of understanding, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and the US naval blockade on Iranian ports lifted, according to sources involved in the talks. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme — the justification President Donald Trump cited for initiating the conflict — would follow the agreement.
The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters the draft satisfied Trump’s core aims and had put subsequent negotiations “in a very, very good place.”
Descriptions of the draft from Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources suggested terms that appear to favour Tehran, prompting criticism from Trump, who rejected those accounts as inaccurate.
Although details varied slightly among accounts, the proposals largely give Iran many of its demands, leaving Trump with little apparent gain beyond securing the strait’s reopening; Iran had closed it after US and Israeli strikes in February.
Araqchi said Iran, jointly with Oman, would control traffic through the strait, a waterway that before the war carried about one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments.
“Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Iranian media reported explosions on Saturday near the strait at Sirik port and Qeshm island; residents and officials said shots were fired by Iranian forces to warn vessels attempting to transit without permission from the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
The Pact, In Plain Terms
Sources who briefed Reuters described draft terms under which Washington would begin unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets and lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports in exchange for Iran reopening the strait.
Talks on Iran’s nuclear programme would follow over a 60-day period. The US official said the arrangement is intended to culminate in the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium destroyed and removed, and with long-term inspections to verify compliance.
Araqchi, however, told state television that Iran — which sources say has not agreed to dismantlement — prefers to keep its enriched uranium after diluting it. “For Tehran, the only preferred solution for its highly enriched uranium stockpile is down-blending the material,” he said.
The draft reportedly includes discussions of possible war reparations for Tehran and the dropping of longstanding US demands to curb Iran’s missile programme, though the US official denied that account.
“None of their money released until they perform. Strait of Hormuz will be open. No Iran funding of terrorist groups,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This is what they have agreed to. This is a performance-based deal.”
Israel Excluded From The Memorandum
A Western source said the agreement could be signed as early as Sunday by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, with Geneva considered the likeliest location.
Araqchi added the pact would be signed remotely before a public announcement.
The US official said Europe had been discussed as a venue, but no final decision had been reached.
Israel — which entered the war alongside the United States — was not part of the negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not be a party to the deal.
Netanyahu has publicly clashed with Trump in recent weeks over US pressure for Israel to limit military operations in Lebanon to give Washington space to clinch a deal with Tehran.
Araqchi said the accord would bring an end to the war in Lebanon, implying Israeli withdrawal from territories it occupies. Israel’s defence minister rejected that notion, and a senior Israeli official said Israel would preserve the freedom to act against perceived threats in areas under its control.
Crude Prices Decline
News of progress toward a deal followed a week of intensified violence in the Gulf, including exchanges between Israel and Iran and US strikes on Iranian targets that were met with retaliation against American bases.
Global stock markets rose and oil prices dipped after the reports. Brent crude fell more than 3% at its lowest point, marking the deepest drop in almost two months.
The conflict has become a thorn for the White House as higher fuel prices and slipping approval ratings weigh on President Trump.
Some Republicans fear the war’s unpopularity could cost the party control of Congress in the November midterms, while others may find it politically difficult to back an agreement that looks overly generous to Iran.
Tehran has long insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful and once accepted strict limits in return for sanctions relief under a 2015 deal with the administration of then-President Barack Obama.
Trump withdrew the United States from that agreement during his first term in 2018, after which Iran increased uranium enrichment, producing more than 400 kg (around 900 pounds) of material near weapons-grade purity.
