US-Iran news LIVE: Oil rises, gold falls as peace deal remains elusive | Today’s news
US-Iran News LIVE: The US and Iran exchanged messages over the weekend seeking changes to a draft deal that would extend the ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz, but it was unclear whether the sides were making much progress.
President Donald Trump said his proposed deal makes clear “that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” according to a post on Truth Social.
Trump has not commented on Iran since a meeting at the White House on Friday, where he said he expected to announce the deal. In a social media post earlier in the day, he reiterated his demands, including that Iran suspend its nuclear program and fully restore the strait to its former status as a free international waterway.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, which has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Sunday that both sides were continuing to propose amendments, but noted that the US and Iran could ultimately reject the changes, causing the deal to collapse.
“Talks and exchange of messages are continuing and until a final result is reached, it is impossible to judge,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to Tasnim. “Everything that is being said now is speculation and should not be taken seriously.
Oil rose and the dollar strengthened as concrete signs of a deal remained elusive. Brent crude rose 1.3% to around $93 a barrel after closing on Friday at its lowest level since mid-April.
On Saturday, Iranian state television reported the existence of a new draft agreement that it said gives the Islamic Republic “exclusive authority to determine the nature of vessels passing through” the strait, a negotiating point the US is unlikely to accept.
Trump once said that Iran and the US could run their operations in a joint venture. He said this week that no country would control the strait, but that the US would “guard” it.
The proposal also said the U.S. pledged to give Iran access to $12 billion in frozen funds within 60 days to be sent directly to Iranian banks without restrictions, according to Iranian television, which added that the document was “unofficial” and not “finalized.”
Since striking a nuclear deal with the Obama administration in 2015, Iran has repeatedly said it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. And in that deal, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment, which it said was for nuclear power, and to ship its stockpile out of the country. When Trump revoked the deal in his first term, Iran returned to enriching uranium beyond what was allowed under the Obama deal.
