President Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran were close to a deal. He canceled the planned strikes on Thursday. The president said he “approved” a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire. It would also open the Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
This is the most recent of many deals that have fallen through or never were. It sets one’s head spinning.
The Shaky Deal
Tehran said there had been no “final decision.” However, three sources briefed on the talks told Axios that key gaps were narrowed. Iran’s Fars news agency denied that any deal had been agreed to. However, they said there was a “possibility” that Tehran would consider signing off.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon that his understanding was that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had given his approval. Iran sources said he had not given final approval. Apparently, Khamenei is alive.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the final points of the deal have been, “in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” including the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt.
No one else says there is an agreement, and Trump hadn’t spoken with Israel
Trump also said the blockade would remain “until this transaction is finalized” and that Iran would agree to never have a nuclear weapon.
No Text for an MOU Is Approved
No one seems to be saying that. Fars, a semi-official news agency affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, quoted an “informed source close to Iran’s negotiation team” as saying that “no text for a preliminary memorandum of understanding with the United States has been approved.”
A later report claimed the U.S. had accepted “Iran’s proposed text,” and as a result, the regime could “reconsider and review the agreement once again.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said an agreement hasn’t been finalized yet. “Most of the text had already been finalized, but the Americans kept changing their positions,” he said.
Behind the scenes: Negotiations continued late into Wednesday night in Tehran as Qatari envoy Ali Al-Thawadi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi worked to bridge the remaining gaps between the U.S. and Iran.
According to Axios, three sources briefed on the talks, the Qataris and the Iranians, believed on Wednesday that they had reached an agreed-upon text that the U.S. would also accept.
The sources said the gaps were narrowed on three key issues:
The mechanism for releasing Iran’s frozen assets is the most important issue for the Iranians. Arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period. How negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would be conducted during the 60-day ceasefire period.
No one knows who is in charge in Iran. This seems like another exercise in futility, but it’s obvious Trump doesn’t want to kill people.
