Iran Says No Imminent US Deal as Talks Advance — The Times
Iran said a deal with the US is not imminent, even as Esmail Baghaei said the two sides had resolved a large portion of the issues under discussion. The times reported that Baghaei described the remaining gap as too wide for anyone to claim a signing was close.
Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s negotiating team, said at a weekly foreign ministry press briefing: “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim.”
Esmail Baghaei and the Strait of Hormuz
Baghaei said contradictory US statements and Israeli interference were hindering negotiations. He also said future management of the Strait of Hormuz was a matter for Oman and Iran to agree on, and that the proposal involved “fees for navigational services,” not tolls.
That discussion is tied to the wider effort to reopen nuclear negotiations that Donald Trump abandoned in February in favour of war. Baghaei said a ceasefire in Lebanon had to be included in the memorandum of understanding linked to Iran allowing commercial shipping through the strait and the US lifting its blockade of Iran’s ports.
Marco Rubio’s 30-day timeline
Marco Rubio said on Monday that a deal could be reached. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Rubio said there was a “pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait [of Hormuz], get the strait open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter, and hopefully we can pull it off.” He also said, “Either we will have a good deal or we will deal with this issue in another way, and we prefer to have a good deal.”
reported on Monday that the framework being considered would restore full access to the Strait of Hormuz in 30 days after any deal to end hostilities between the two countries. also reported that Iran would use a 30-day post-ceasefire period to remove mines from the strategic waterway.
US strikes and Trump’s demand
US Central Command said on Monday that US forces carried out strikes on southern Iran in self-defence. Centcom said the strikes targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats seeking to lay mines. That military action landed on the same day Trump said the deal would be “great and meaningful, or there will be no deal at all.”
Trump also said he had asked countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to join the Abraham Accords en masse. He said on Saturday that he spoke to the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The next hard test for the talks is whether Iran and the US can turn the Strait of Hormuz framework into a text both sides will sign, while Lebanon and the port blockade remain attached to the same package.
