A source from the mediating country of Pakistan and another source familiar with the mediation process announced that the United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war in the Persian Gulf, according to Eqztanonline.
Reuters news agency wrote in this regard:
In a message on social media in the early hours of the morning, US President Donald Trump said the war could end if “Iran agrees to what was agreed upon”, without providing specific details of any specific proposals.
The sources confirmed the information previously reported by the American media Axios. This proposed 14-point, one-page memorandum of understanding will officially end the war, and then negotiations will begin to remove the blockade of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, lift the US sanctions against Iran, and agree on limits to Iran’s nuclear program.
“We will finalize this issue soon,” the Pakistani source said. We are close to an agreement.” Pakistan, which has so far hosted the only peace talks of this war, continues to play the role of a mediator and exchange proposals between the parties.
Reports about the possibility of reaching an agreement caused a sharp fall in global oil prices; So that Brent oil futures decreased by 11% and reached around 98 dollars per barrel. Also, global stock prices increased and bond yields decreased; An issue that stems from optimism about the end of a war that has disrupted energy supplies.
The progress of negotiations and reactions in the global energy market
In his morning message, Trump wrote: “If Iran agrees to what was agreed upon, which may be a big assumption, the epic outrage that has already become legendary will end and the highly effective blockade will allow us to open the Strait of Hormuz to everyone, including Iran.”
He added: “If they don’t agree, the bombing will start and unfortunately it will be at a much higher level and intensity than before.”
Hours earlier, Trump called off a three-day naval mission to reopen the blocked strait, citing progress in peace talks.
In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that if the US “threats” end, crossing the strait will be possible under new conditions that are being developed, without providing details.
The White House, State Department and Iranian officials contacted by Reuters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNBC news channel reported, quoting the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, that Tehran is considering the 14-point proposal of the United States.
Ambiguity in Washington’s key demands
A source familiar with the mediation process said the U.S. negotiations were being led by Trump’s representative, Steve Wittkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
This source added that if the two sides reach an initial agreement, detailed negotiations will begin for 30 days to reach a full agreement.
According to this source, the final agreement will include the lifting of US sanctions and the release of blocked Iranian assets, the lifting of reciprocal blockades in the Strait of Hormuz and the imposition of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, with the aim of achieving a halt or suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment.
While the sources stated that the memorandum of understanding does not need to be scored by the parties at the beginning, these sources and the Axios report did not mention some of Washington’s key demands that were previously raised and rejected by Iran.
Among these unmentioned demands, we can mention the limitation of Iran’s missile program and the end of support for proxy groups in the Middle East.
While the sources spoke of Iran’s future suspension of enrichment, they did not mention the current stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium close to weapons-grade.
Washington had previously demanded to abandon these reserves before the end of the war. Iran has also always emphasized its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and denied trying to build nuclear weapons.
Stopping the US naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz
Earlier, Trump announced the suspension of the “Freedom Project”; A mission he had introduced two days earlier to guide ships through the blocked strait.
This mission failed to bring about a significant resumption of traffic in this waterway and instead provoked a new wave of Iranian attacks on ships in the strait and targets in neighboring countries.
In the latest incident, a French shipping company announced on Wednesday that one of its container ships was targeted in the strait yesterday and its injured crew members were evacuated.
In announcing the suspension of the mission, Trump cited “significant progress” in negotiations with Iran, without providing further details.
He said last week that he would probably reject Iran’s latest offer for negotiations. Iran’s proposal also included 14 clauses and demanded to put aside the nuclear discussions until after the end of the war and resolve the disputes related to shipping.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in remarks made during a trip to China on Wednesday, did not refer to Trump’s recent remarks, but said Tehran was seeking a “fair and comprehensive agreement.”
The continuation of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and its regional consequences
Iran has effectively closed the strait to all but its own ships since the start of the war by the US and Israel on February 28. In April, Washington imposed a separate blockade against Iranian ports.
Trump’s “Project Freedom” mission to use the US Navy to reopen the strait has failed to convince merchant ships that the passage is safe, while provoking new attacks from Iran. Iran had announced that it had expanded its control to include parts of the coast of the United Arab Emirates on the other side of the strait.
