Cairo: US President Donald Trump said a deal with Iran on the war in the Middle East, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region over the weekend.
But other officials counselled caution on Sunday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio noting that “significant progress, although not final progress has been made” in the negotiations.
Rubio, on a four-day visit to India for meetings with Indian, Australian and Japanese officials, said he hoped that there would be good news in the coming hours.
The negotiations have succeeded in one of Trump’s main aims, Rubio said, “that is a world that no longer has to be in fear or worry about an Iranian nuclear weapon.”
Trump said on Saturday he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel.
“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on social media, with no details. The announcement capped a week in which the US weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic that would break a fragile ceasefire.
The potential deal will include Iran’s commitment that it won’t pursue a nuclear weapon, and Tehran agreed to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to two regional officials.
One official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran will give up its highly enriched uranium is a subject of further negotiations over the course of a 60-day period.
It’s highly likely that a part of the amount will be diluted, while the rest will be transferred to a third country, potentially Russia, he said.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The Strait of Hormuz will be gradually open in parallel with the US ending its blockade of Iran’s ports, said the official.
The US will also allow Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers, said the second official who has been briefed on the negotiations. Sanctions relief and release of Iran’s frozen funds will be negotiated during the 60-day time frame, he said.
Both officials said the draft deal includes an end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as a commitment of not interfering in the domestic affairs of countries in the region. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations.
Twelve weeks have passed since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, killing top Iranian officials including its supreme leader and interrupting nuclear talks between the US and Iran for the second time in less than a year.
Iran fired at Israel and at neighbours hosting US forces, shaking Gulf nations that had considered themselves safe havens in a tough region.
A ceasefire has held since April 7. But Iran’s decision to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz for ships carrying regional oil, natural gas and other critical supplies has been a focal point of global concern and economic pain.
Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied with Iran, remains a serious threat to Israel and that Lebanon is ill-equipped to disarm it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Trump that Israel “maintains freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon,” according to an official familiar with the conversation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The official said Trump made it clear to Netanyahu that he will not sign any final agreement without the conditions that Iran dismantle its entire nuclear programme and remove all enriched uranium from the country.
Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and part of his national security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio on Sunday morning that Israel is taking a “wait-and-see” approach.
There is a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon since April 17, a conflict that began two days after the Iran war started.
Despite the ceasefire, firing continues on both sides. Hezbollah launches daily drones and projectiles toward Israeli soldiers and northern Israel, and Israel strikes targets in Lebanon while its troops remain in large swaths of southern Lebanon.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Additionally, 22 Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, mostly from Hezbollah drones, according to Netanyahu’s office.
