Iran and the United States appear to be moving closer to an agreement aimed at ending the ongoing conflict, as mediators from Qatar made a visit to Tehran on Sunday. Two regional officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, indicated that there’s a hint of cautious optimism. Could it be that the U.S. and Iran are on the brink of a deal that might finally put an end to the violence that has claimed countless lives and opened the vital Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed, impacting global markets?
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif suggested that the deal could be officially signed on Sunday. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai also hinted that the signing might occur within days. Trump mentioned that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen immediately following the signing.
The signing is expected to be conducted electronically, and while that sounds straightforward enough, the actual details about when and how it will happen remain uncertain.
Nuclear and Other Issues Still Unresolved
Despite the progress, the deal doesn’t fully address critical issues between the U.S. and Iran, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and frozen assets. However, it mentions a 60-day timeframe for technical discussions on these matters. Some officials, speaking under conditions of anonymity, noted that Pakistan has been mediating for months, often struggling to keep both sides engaged, with negotiations collapsing multiple times.
It seems the U.S. and Israel may not achieve their original objectives of dismantling Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities or curbing its support for proxies. How exactly the agreement will tackle these concerns—or if they’ll be included in the final deal—remains to be seen.
As the talks progress, it’s worth noting that President Trump is also expected to address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz during the upcoming Group of Seven summit. This particular waterway is crucial for transporting oil and natural gas, and its near closure has put considerable strain on the global economy.
The developments surrounding the negotiations seem to come in the wake of an intense gunfight earlier this week involving Iran, the United States, and Israel, which nearly derailed the fragile ceasefire established since April 7.
Concerns surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, particularly the enrichment of uranium, remain a significant source of tension. President Trump made a remark on social media about the U.S. plans to “downblend and destroy” enriched uranium in both Iran and the U.S. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran possesses 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, just shy of the weapons-grade threshold of 90%.
Despite these tensions, Iran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and hasn’t committed to relinquishing any enriched uranium, particularly what’s believed to be buried at several sites damaged in a previous U.S. attack.
Iran’s Aim to Broaden the Agreement
Amid these negotiations, fighting continues in Lebanon, where Israel is engaged with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, which has adopted a more aggressive stance recently, despite a ceasefire being in place.
Iran is interested in a comprehensive ceasefire that encompasses the conflict in Lebanon and is also pushing for the release of billions in frozen assets. This existing agreement is met with disappointment from the Israeli government, which feels sidelined in the ongoing talks led primarily by Pakistan. Even some Republican critics of Trump have voiced their dissatisfaction with the arrangement, particularly as the country heads toward midterm elections.
There’s a sentiment among some critics that the conditions of the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal—withdrawn by Trump during his first term and labeled as “bad”—have yet to see any real improvement.
