Iran says a US proposal to end the war is “still being considered”, after reports the two sides could be close to an agreement.
US news outlet Axios reported on Wednesday that the White House believes it could be closing in on a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran.
A senior member of Iran’s parliament dismissed it as a “wish list”, while a foreign ministry spokesman said Tehran would share its views of a US proposal with Pakistani mediators.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said his country was “endeavouring to convert this ceasefire into a permanent end to this war”. President Donald Trump said the US has had “very good talks with Iran in the last 24 hours” and that a deal is possible.
In its report, Axios describes the memorandum as a one-page, 14-point memo which could set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
Among the provisions it lists are a suspension on Iranian nuclear enrichment, the lifting of sanctions, and restoring free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
It cites two US officials and two other sources – all unnamed – whom it describes as briefed on the issues. These sources are reported as saying that many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached.
The Reuters news agency reported that two sources briefed on the mediation between the US and Iran had confirmed the information initially reported by Axios, but the proposal has not been publicly outlined.
“The American proposal is still being reviewed by Iran and after concluding, it will inform the Pakistani side of its opinion,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Ismail Baghaei told the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).
Responding to the Axios report, Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian Parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, wrote on X: “The Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations.”
He also said Iran “has its finger on the trigger and is ready” and warned that if the US did not “surrender and grant the necessary concessions”, Iran would “deliver a harsh and regret-inducing response”.
Trump has threatened renewed violence as well, writing on his Truth Social platform that if Iran did not agree to a deal “the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.
He also said Operation Epic Fury – the initial US-Israeli offensive in Iran – would come to an end “assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to”. That was after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the operation was over after achieving its objectives.
Trump also said, not for the first time, that Iran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon “among other things” – a claim that has not been confirmed by Tehran. Iran’s nuclear programme has been one of the key sticking points between the two sides.
“They [Iran] want to make a deal. We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal up there,” Trump said, adding: “I think we won.”
He announced on Tuesday that he was pausing Project Freedom, just days after announcing it. The operation was meant to help restore the flow of oil and the global economy’s eventual return to normalcy by guiding stranded ships out of the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has yet to react publicly to the pause but the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) alluded to the strait reopening if there is an “end of the aggressors’ threats”.
The crucial waterway, through which 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes, has effectively been blockaded by Iran since the US and Israel began attacking it in late February.
In early April, the US and Iran announced a ceasefire under which Iran ended its drone and missile strikes on Gulf countries including the UAE, but few vessels have been able to transit the strait since then.
The US also imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports, saying it has stopped dozens of ships. US Central Command said on Wednesday it had shot at and disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was trying to break the blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that there was “full coordination” between himself and Trump over Iran.
“There are no surprises. We share common goals, and the most important objective is the removal of all enriched material from Iran and the dismantling of Iran’s enrichment capabilities,” he said.
His comments came after launched its first strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, since a ceasefire was agreed in April.–BBC
