US President Donald Trump declared that negotiations with Iran were progressing in a “constructive manner” and insisted Tehran “must understand” that it cannot develop a nuclear weapon.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump sharply criticised the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement negotiated under former president Barack Obama, calling it “one of the worst deals ever made by our Country” and claiming it created “a direct path to Iran developing a Nuclear Weapon”.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told The New York Times that an agreement with Iran had garnered regional support but a nuclear deal couldn't be achieved "in 72 hours on the back of a napkin."
"We're not kicking it till later. Nuclear talks are highly technical matters. You can't do a nuclear thing in 72 hours on the back of a napkin," Rubio told the Times in a brief interview.
"So right now, we have seven or eight countries in the region that are endorsing this approach, and we're prepared to move forward on this approach," he said.
Meanwhile, Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium, a key demand of US President Donald Trump, and the sides previously seemed close to a deal in recent weeks. Trump on Saturday said a deal had been “largely negotiated,” after calls with Israel and other regional allies.
He also said the US relationship with Iran is becoming “much more professional and productive.”
According to officials, wnder the emerging agreement, the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen in parallel with the US ending its blockade.
The strait's reopening would begin to ease a worldwide energy crisis sparked by the surprise US and Israeli bombardment of Iran on February 28, which led Tehran to effectively close the crucial waterway.
Prices have spiked for oil, gas and several downstream products, jolting the world economy. Experts say it would take several weeks or even months for shipping and prices to recover to prewar levels.
The US has blockaded Iranian ports for over a month, and Trump on Sunday said the blockade “will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”
The emerging deal would include Iran giving up uranium
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said that “significant progress, although not final progress, has been made” in negotiations, and the world would no longer need to fear Iran getting a nuclear weapon, without elaborating.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon.” Iran’s embassy in India responded to Rubio on social media, saying Tehran has an “inalienable” right to nuclear technology.
Iran has always insisted its program is peaceful while enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
One official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said. Russia has offered to take it.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Trump has sought greater concessions from Iran than those required under a 2015 Obama-era agreement that the U.S. later withdrew from under Trump.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the state-run news agency that there are “narrowing differences” between the Iranian and US positions, but that Iran is cautious after being attacked twice in the past year during nuclear negotiations.
The Iranian Embassy in New Delhi asserted that Tehran considered “the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology to be the legitimate and inalienable right of its people”.
“Iran will never relinquish this lawful and internationally recognised right,” the embassy said in a statement.
The strait would reopen and Iran would be able to sell oil
As per the proposed agreement, after the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the US would allow Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers, said the second official, who has been briefed on the negotiations. Sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s frozen funds would be negotiated during the 60-day time frame, the official said.
Both officials said the draft deal includes an end to the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
However, the Iranian state media disputed Trump’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz would be fully reopened under the proposed arrangement, signalling Tehran’s intention to retain strategic leverage over the key shipping corridor.
Twelve weeks have passed since the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and other top officials. A ceasefire with Iran has held since April 7, though the sides have exchanged fire on occasion.
Several countries, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, welcomed progress on a possible deal with Iran.
Israel remains concerned over Hezbollah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a social media post Sunday, said “President Trump and I agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger,” and that Trump had reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself “on every front, including Lebanon.”
Science Minister Gila Gamliel, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and part of his national security cabinet, told Israel's Army Radio that Israel is taking a “wait-and-see” approach.
Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah remains a serious threat to Israel and that Lebanon is ill-equipped to disarm it.
A fragile, US-brokered ceasefire took effect in Lebanon on April 17, but fighting has continued, mainly in the south. Hezbollah has launched daily drone and rocket attacks on Israeli forces and northern Israel, and Israel has struck targets across Lebanon while its troops remain in large swaths of the south.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Additionally, 22 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Netanyahu’s office.
(With inputs from Jayanth Jacob, AP)
