President Trump and other administration officials are tempering expectations raised of an imminent agreement to end the war in Iran while Iranian officials have signaled there are still disagreements on key issues.
Trump, after saying Saturday that the U.S. and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, said Sunday in a series of posts in social media that the U.S. would not rush into any agreement.
"If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one," adding: "So don't listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about," Trump posted on Sunday.
Speaking in New Delhi, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday, the United States would "give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives."
Iran has not officially commented on the proposed agreement. But semi-official news agencies, often used for Iranian leadership messaging, have said that disputes over "one or two" issues were jeopardizing the potential deal.
On Monday, Tasnim news agency, close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused the U.S. of "obstructionism" over the release of some frozen Iranian funds in exchange for lifting restrictions over transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The news agency also said the agreement being negotiated called on Iran to restore the number of ships transiting through the vital waterway to pre-war levels within 30 days and for the U.S. to completely lift its blockade within the same time. Another state-backed agency, ISNA, said Iran would insist on administering the strait along with Oman. The two countries share the narrow waterway, with the transit passage governed by the U.N. law of seas.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, sparking a regional war that for the first time spread to U.S. allies in the Gulf including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran struck U.S. military bases and energy infrastructure in those countries in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes. A ceasefire was agreed in April. Several thousand Iranians were believed killed in the U.S. and Israeli strikes.
While Trump originally focused on the idea of regime change in the Islamic republic and the perceived threat of Iran building nuclear weapons, current talks have centered on re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.
World oil prices have risen sharply after Iran restricted access to the vital waterway. Shipping disruptions related to container traffic through the strait have affected the global availability and the cost of a huge variety of products from fertilizer to plastic consumer goods.
Rubio, on an official visit to India, said the agreement being discussed with Iran was "a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the strait." He said the U.S. intended to engage in "a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter." "Hopefully, we can pull it off," he added.
Iran's state-backed ISNA news agency quoted a senior Iranian diplomat as saying that Iran has not made any commitment in negotiations on the initial agreement on nuclear issues, including highly enriched uranium.
The U.S. has pressed Iran to send highly enriched uranium out of the country for safe-keeping. Iran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, sees it as a sovereignty issue and has indicated opposition to that option.
Hossein Nooshabadi, a senior foreign ministry official quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency, said Iran's demands include "ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, releasing billions of dollars of Iran's frozen assets, lifting the U.S. naval blockade and opening the Strait of Hormuz, withdrawing U.S. forces from the surrounding environment of the Islamic Republic, and the freedom to sell Iranian oil are envisioned in the potential agreement between Iran and the United States."
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Sunday that if a deal were signed Iran and the U.S. would discuss nuclear issues over a 60-day period, which the Nooshabadi said would begin after the 30-day initial agreement over the Strait of Hormuz.
"At this stage we are not discussing nuclear details, and the 14-point memorandum of understanding is focused on ending the war," he said.
Nooshabadi said the 60-day talks were contingent on the lifting of sanctions and a complete release of frozen Iranian assets by the U.S.
Trump wrote Saturday the U.S. would continue its naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz until an agreement with Iran was "reached, certified, and signed."
Iran's parliament spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei said in a social media post that Iran would not yield to threats and if the U.S. wanted an agreement it should negotiate but if it wanted even higher prices at the gas pumps it should "continue bluffing".
Israel, which has played a key role in Trump's decision-making on Iran, is strongly opposed to a deal that includes a stop to the war in Lebanon.
Despite a U.S.-brokered extension to the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon this month, Israel has continued to occupy southern Lebanon and launch waves of airstrikes. Lebanon's health ministry says more than 3,200 people, including women, children, medical personnel and first responders, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah began in March.
Israel says 22 soldiers and a military contractor along with two civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.
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