US and Iran seek to finalize deal to end war
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement with Iran formally ending the war in the Middle East was likely to be announced Sunday, and insisted that the goals had been achieved.
Image of the war in Iran.
The United States and Iran are trying Sunday to reach an agreement after announcing a breakthrough in their talks to end the war, a pact that President Donald Trump said is "largely negotiated."
According to several media reports, this agreement, which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, would allow ships to cross the canal, vital to the world hydrocarbon market.
But the issue of Iran's nuclear program would be considered in later negotiations.
CBS News, citing sources close to the talks, said the latest proposal would include unlocking some Iranian assets in banks abroad and extending negotiations for an additional 30 days.
A deadline also mentioned by The Wall Street Journal.
The deal under discussion does not resolve the issue of exactly how Iran would dispose of its stockpile of enriched uranium, a question that would be addressed in a next round of negotiations "in the coming weeks or months," The New York Times reported, citing U.S. officials.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said Saturday that Tehran was in the process of finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Washington.
"That does not necessarily mean that Iran and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues," Esmaïl Baghaï stressed, specifying that the nuclear dossier was not part "at this stage" of dialogues.
However, the lifting of the naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports and the question of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has been de facto blocked by Iran since the beginning of the war launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, remain unresolved.
Rubio says an announcement on the war with Iran is likely on Sunday
"I do think perhaps there is the possibility that in the next few hours the world will get some good news," Rubio told reporters in New Delhi.
Rubio, who is on his first visit to India, said the emerging deal would address President Donald Trump's concerns on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blocked in response to the U.S.-Israeli attack.
The agreement would also start a "process that can ultimately leave us where the president wants us to be, and that is a world that no longer has to fear or worry about an Iranian nuclear weapon," he added.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a mediator in these negotiations, on Sunday pushed for a possible phased end to the conflict.
In that regard, he said he hoped to "host the next round of talks very soon," he posted on social network X.
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The "extensively negotiated" draft agreement with Iran and "pending finalization" includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump specified in a message on his Truth Social platform.
His publication came after a telephone conversation with numerous leaders of Gulf States, but also Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan.
Trump claimed to have spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a "separate" call.
Earlier Saturday, Trump estimated the odds of a "good" deal or a resumption of the war "50-50" in remarks to the news outlet Axios.
Earlier in the day, Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, promised a "crushing" response if the United States resumed its war against Iran.
Ghalibaf had just met in Tehran with Pakistan's army chief, Marshal Asim Munir, in the framework of Islamabad's mediation efforts.
After more than a month of war, which has caused thousands of deaths and shaken the world economy, a ceasefire between Iran and the United States has been in effect since April 8.
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