The terms of the proposed memorandum to end the war in the Gulf – described by Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources on Friday – appeared to be very favorable to Iran, drawing criticism from US President Donald Trump, who called the reports inaccurate.
Versions and accounts of the memorandum were provided to Reuters by Western sources, sources from a Pakistani mediator and senior Iranian sources. They were also published in Iranian media.
All sources emphasized that the document was not yet a deadline, a Western source, an Iranian source and a Gulf source say that the important issue that still needs to be resolved is the language of the cease-fire in Lebanon. Iran has demanded that Israel end its campaign against Iran’s allies, the Hezbollah militia.
Although there were slight differences in the accounts, all versions appeared to accept the terms proposed by Tehran two months ago during the first face-to-face talks, which had previously been repeatedly rejected by Washington.
In a statement posted on social media, Trump did not say what was wrong with the report about the proposed deal, but said: “The terms that Iran has leaked on Fake News DO NOT match the terms that were agreed upon in writing.”
“Very disrespectful people to deal with,” he said of the Iranians.
Under the terms as described by sources to Reuters, the US will immediately provide Iran with billions of dollars in unfrozen goods and remove sanctions on oil sales, so that Iran can lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the war began.
Only in Canada, the CBC has been granted permission to report from Iran. The government there restricts foreign journalists but does not check our news. CBC News senior international correspondent Margaret Evans takes viewers to a pro-government rally in Tehran.
Any negotiations on key US demands regarding Iran’s nuclear program will be put on hold for the foreseeable future during the 60-day period of talks on the final settlement. The only clear indication of nuclear policy at the moment would be to reiterate Iran’s decades-old commitment to non-nuclear weapons, first made when it ratified the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970.
Among the major US deals included in the draft plans will be talks on hundreds of billions of dollars in potential war reparations for Tehran, as well as a reduction in long-standing requirements to curb Iran’s missile program.
Washington has demanded that Iran dispose of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. But none of the versions of the document reviewed by Reuters included any mention of it, and sources said the demand had not yet been formally released.
A Western source said that if the language is not agreed, the memorandum could be signed as soon as Sunday by US Vice President JD Vance and the Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, and Geneva is now considered the most favored location.
Although it has jointly launched a war with the United States, Israel has not been included in the negotiations so far, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his country will not be part of the memorandum.
Netanyahu has repeatedly clashed with Trump in recent weeks over US demands that Israel stop military attacks on Lebanon so that Washington can reach an agreement with Tehran.
Trump is calling off the strikes
The agreement came at the end of a week that has seen the biggest escalation in the Gulf since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran were halted. Israel and Iran exchanged fire for the first time since the ceasefire, and Washington then launched two days of strikes on Iran that prompted return fire from US bases in the region.
Trump said on Thursday that he was going to call off new major strikes because the deal was ready.
“We just made a good resolution on the war with Iran,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump called off planned military strikes on Iran on Thursday, saying the war was imminent, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a ‘good deal,’ but Tehran said no such deal had been finalized. CBC News reports from inside Iran.
Trump’s announcement of the deal caused world stocks to rally and lower oil prices. Brent crude prices fell more than 3 percent to the lowest in nearly two months.
Throughout the war, Trump has made repeated announcements that a deal is imminent — only no such deal has materialized.
When he declared war with Israel, Trump said his main goal was to destroy Iran’s nuclear program and its ability to strike its neighbors, and to make it easier for the Iranian people to overthrow their government.
Although none of those goals have been achieved, reopening the strait could restore Gulf trade to pre-war levels, ending the worst disruption in global energy supplies.
“The strait will be officially opened as soon as we sign, which could be very, very soon, probably over the weekend in Europe,” Trump said, adding that Vance would attend the signing of the agreement. He did not elaborate.
Asked if Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the deal, Trump said, “I understand the answer is yes.”
US downs two Iranian drones
Tensions remain high along the Strait of Hormuz, where the US military shot down two Iranian fighter jets after Tehran tried to attack commercial vessels sailing through the vital strait, a US official said on Thursday.
Iran’s military stopped the tanker from passing through the channel, state media said, reporting the sound of the explosion early Friday.
The dispute has become a hot topic in the White House, as polls showing Trump’s approval rating plunge amid voter anger over high gas prices.
Some Republicans are clearly worried that unpopularity with the war could cost them control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
However, many Republican figures have taken strong positions on Iran in the past and would have difficulty agreeing to a deal that is seen as a concession to Iran.
Tehran, which has always insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful, accepted tougher restrictions on it in exchange for the lifting of sanctions under a 2015 deal with then-US President Barack Obama’s administration.
Trump abandoned that deal during his first term in 2018, saying it was too soft, and Iran responded by ramping up its uranium enrichment, producing more than 400 kilograms of enriched material to the level needed to make a bomb, whose whereabouts are unknown.
