Washington, DC – US President Donald Trump declared to his supporters that the United States had “ended the war” with Iran, a surprising move anticipated by the international community. In contrast, Tehran adopted a cautiously flexible stance, emphasizing that it has not yet reached a final and binding decision regarding the draft agreement currently under negotiation with Washington.
Trump said at a virtual campaign rally in support of a candidate for governor of Georgia, as reported by CNN: “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but we ended the war with Iran today. Tehran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon, something we have insisted on strongly all along.”
Iranian hesitation and the terms of the draft agreement
In contrast, the Iranian response was markedly different. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei stated that his country “has not yet reached a final decision on the agreement.” This reflects ongoing intensive consultations within Tehran’s decision-making circles.
In a related development, the American news website Axios, citing a diplomat from a mediating country and a US official, revealed the key points of the memorandum of understanding that Trump insists is close to being signed. The draft stipulates the following:
Reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately to international maritime navigation without imposing any transit fees.
Easing US sanctions on Iran, and linking this to the extent of its actual compliance with the terms of the agreement.
The ceasefire was extended for 60 days to include the Lebanese front, and extensive negotiations on the nuclear issue were to take place during this period.
The fate of fertilization and the final green light
The memorandum includes a preliminary framework for addressing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium. However, any practical and concrete steps regarding the nuclear program will depend entirely on reaching a second, more detailed and comprehensive agreement.
A diplomat familiar with the latest draft confirmed that “the United States and Iran have reached an agreement in principle on the text.” However, he noted that the document still requires final approval. By Thursday evening, the agreement had received high-level approval within the Iranian government. But it has not yet received the green light and final approval from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to two sources familiar with the sensitive negotiations.
