‘Not there yet, but very close,’ says JD Vance on possible US-Iran deal – ‘Hopefully we’ll continue to make progress’ | Today’s news
Iran US News: US Vice President JD Vance said Washington was “not yet” on a deal with Iran, but that the parties were close. The vice president said the U.S. is in a position to significantly curtail Tehran’s nuclear program.
The United States and Iran reached an agreement on Thursday (US time) to extend a ceasefire and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz until US President Donald Trump approves, media reported, citing sources.
According to a BBC report, the deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire by 60 days and open negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Unnamed US officials said the two countries had agreed on the framework of the deal, which is pending approval by Trump and the Iranian leadership.
But Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the deal had not been finalized or confirmed.
However, Vance said negotiators are “going back and forth on several points of language,” which include “the issue of enrichment.”
“We are not there yet, but we are very close and we will continue to do so,” he told reporters.
The US wants Iran to stop producing highly enriched uranium and dispose of its existing stockpile. Vance told reporters in Washington that the US believed the Iranians were negotiating in “good faith”.
“Hopefully we’ll continue to make progress and the president will be in a position to support the deal, but of course that’s still TBD (to be determined),” he added.
What’s in the new US-Iran deal?
Axios reported that shipping via Strait of Hormuz it will be “unrestricted” and will not pay any tolls or harass ships passing through the waters under the 60-day MoU. Iran will also have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days, according to the deal
Iran will also pledge not to pursue a nuclear weapon, and in return, the proposed deal would see the US agree to discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of the talks.
President Trump was briefed on the proposal but did not immediately sign it, and it will take several days to consider it, according to Axios, which first reported on the preliminary US-Iran deal on Thursday.
We are not there yet, but we are very close and we will continue to do so.
On February 28, the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran that killed its then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiamong others. Iran responded by targeting US bases and allies in the Middle East.
Hostilities continue despite a ceasefire agreed on 8 April. Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
(With inputs from Reuters)
