A deal appears to be emerging between the United States and Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend said it had been “largely negotiated.”
It is not clear when or how the deal might be finalized and when its various parts will take effect. Trump spoke after calls with allies in the Middle East, including a separate call with Israel. Details come from two regional officials and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
Here’s what we know and don’t know:
The war would end
In the 12 weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with attacks on Iran that killed senior officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Tehran has insisted that any deal focus on ending the fighting on all fronts. That includes Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group has been fighting Israel since two days into the war.
A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7. An end to the war would ease concerns throughout a region that saw Gulf havens and travel hubs like the United Arab Emirates struck by Iranian missiles and drones. It would allow for global shipping, including an estimated 20 per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas, to begin flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again. It also would allow the rebuilding of energy and other infrastructure in the region.
Both regional officials said the draft deal includes an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as a commitment to not interfere in the domestic affairs of countries in the region including Iran. That’s a critical reference to Iran’s support for proxies, which also include the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hamas militants in Gaza and Shiite armed groups in Iraq.
The U.S. wants Israel to have a free hand to respond to what it views as threats in Lebanon while Iran rejects it, one regional official said. The U.S. official said the deal would guarantee Israel’s right to act against imminent threats in self-defence.
The Strait of Hormuz would reopen gradually
Iran’s nuclear program, missile program and support for armed proxies were the stated reasons for the U.S. and Israel attacking Iran. But Tehran’s retaliatory grip on the Strait of Hormuz quickly shot to the top of global concerns as hundreds of ships carrying oil, natural gas, fertilizer and other supplies were stranded.
Under the emerging agreement, the strait would gradually reopen in parallel with the U.S. ending the blockade of Iran’s ports it launched on April 17, the regional officials said. The blockade has limited Iran’s ability to ship its oil and bring in badly needed cash for its long-suffering economy.
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The U.S. would allow Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers, said one of the officials, who has been briefed on the negotiations. Sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s billions of dollars in frozen funds would be negotiated during a 60-day period, the official said.
Iran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium
Iran’s nuclear program and international concerns over its possible pursuit of a nuclear weapon underlie all tensions, and the U.S. and Israel have considered highly complex military operations to go in and take out its highly enriched uranium.
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up that stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the regional officials. One official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give it up would be subject to further talks over the 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted and the rest transferred to a third country, potentially Russia, the official said. Russia has offered to take it.
A U.S. official confirmed the 60-day period and said if Iran doesn’t give up its stockpile, there will be no sanctions relief.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) 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.
Iran says it has an “inalienable” right to nuclear technology while insisting its program is peaceful. On Sunday, President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon.”
Trump on Sunday on social media said that “our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb.”
What appears to be missing
Other issues have not been mentioned in descriptions of the emerging deal, including the status of Iran’s uranium enrichment.
Another is Iran’s missile program, which Israel in particular has sought to destroy.
And while the United States and Israel entered the war with stated ambitions of seeing Iranians rise up against their government after nationwide protests early in the year, any discussion of leadership change in Tehran appears to be out.
As for Iran’s past stated aims during negotiations, there appears to be no mention of any withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region, or for reparations for the damage the war has caused.
It ‘s been proven long ago that neither side has the capability to be trusted in any agreement.
Send Carney and Eby to Iran to negotiate a deal.
The Iranian government won’t know if they are allowed to have a nuclear enrichment program or not,if they can or can not control the Strait or if they even own any land in Iran.
It will have them so confused, they will probably just surrender.
Trump is wasting time and resources trying to negotiate with the Iranian leadership.
They are not going to budge,they don’t think like Western or European nations,martyrdom is honorable to them.They use the ceasefire downtime to restock with flights into China everytime they and the U.S. are in talks.They are no where close to a peace agreement
The U.S. really has no option other than to smoke them kineticaly .It’s either that or fly a
I think you’re right, Try This. I’m not very educated, and I guess it’s the same for you too. Basically I get all my info off of reddit subs and tiktok.
What am I saying? Now that I think about it more, I guess Israel isn’t the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism like Iran is. And they haven’t been funding terrorist groups across the middle east and further abroad for decades. And they haven’t called for entire nations to be wiped off the map. So I guess it makes sense for them to have some nukes, in case all these surrounding Arab countries try to invade them again like they have 3 times or so in the last century. Oh, and Israel hasn’t signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty, unlike Iran, who did.
I can’t decide what animal I am today.
Don’t believe a word the Moron-in-Chief says!
So Anonymous, you say no terrorist state should have nuclear weapons. Does that include Israel? Or considering the pirate attacks, and foreign leader abductions, the US? I guess your Total Dissolved Solids comment says not.
Kathleen is right. This war has gone 2 steps backwards from what the US had, to what they will get.
Israel’s response to threats is to bulldoze houses,and kill 10 -100 times as many people in the threat. – so no.
Same as Iran will not be able to collect tolls, or get reparation, the US will not get uranium, or the leadership in Iran that they want.
Israel is not on board yet. US has not removed the blockade or the sanctions they imposed on foreign countries on Iran wealth.
Nothing has changed. Trump is finally reading the room, and understanding that his threats are limited.
We can all hope, but this is not looking rosy yet. – despite Trump’s boasts.
No terrorist state must ever be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, for once they do, nobody on Earth will ever be safe again. This may be the only thing Trump has ever gotten right.
EVERY country has the right to have nuclear weapons as a deterrent these days.
Never, under any circumstances, trust the current Iranian Islamic regime to keep their word on any peace deal. History has shown us that they will say and do anything to prevent their goal of obtaining nuclear weapons capability from being restricted. Once nuclear armed they will wreak hell on earth. Be careful what you support lefties, because you will rue the day you supported an Iranian government simply because you have TDS syndrome.
Guess he should have thought more carefully before he backed out of Iran nuclear deal in his first term!