Iran and the United States Report Some Progress in Talks

President Donald Trump indicated on Saturday that an agreement with Iran, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, had been “largely negotiated” following phone conversations with Israel and other regional allies.

“The final aspects and details of the agreement are being discussed and will be announced shortly,” said Mr. Trump on social media, without providing a timeline.

He said he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and separately with Israel.

He described it as a “peace-related agreement protocol” that still needs to be finalized by the United States, Iran, and other countries involved in Saturday’s talks.

There was no mention of the Iranian nuclear program or highly enriched uranium, topics Iran wished to address later on.

Growing Optimism The United States and Iran were on the brink of reaching an agreement to end the war, according to a regional official familiar with mediation efforts by Pakistan, after the U.S. considered a new series of attacks on the Islamic Republic.

The official, speaking anonymously about closed-door deliberations, warned that last-minute differences could derail the efforts. It was not the first time in recent weeks that an agreement was described as imminent.

He emphasized that the potential agreement would include an official declaration of the end of war, as well as two months of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program. The Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, and the U.S. would lift its blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran reported a “narrowing of divergences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held new talks in Tehran.

Both Iran and the U.S. reiterated their fundamental positions and warned against the risk of renewed attacks and a ceasefire breakdown.

Framework Agreement for New Negotiations Iran’s public television quoted the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, who referred to the project as a “framework agreement.”

“We want it to include the main issues necessary to end the imposed war and other matters of paramount importance to us. Then, within a reasonable timeframe, between 30 and 60 days, the details will be discussed, and a final agreement will ultimately be reached,” he added.

He mentioned that the Strait of Hormuz was among the topics discussed.

Positions have been getting closer in recent days, said Baghaei, according to the Iranian official news agency IRNA.

“At the end of last week, there was a trend towards reducing the divergences,” he explained. “We’ll have to wait and see what happens over the next three or four days.”

Baghaei emphasized that nuclear issues were not part of the current negotiations, with Tehran first seeking to end the war before discussing its nuclear program, a source of longstanding international tensions.

“Our priority at this stage is to end the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” said Baghaei, adding that the lifting of sanctions against Tehran “has been explicitly included in the text and remains our unchanged position.”

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the chief negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the U.S. last month, stated that Iran had rebuilt its military capabilities and warned that if President Donald Trump resumed attacks, the result would be “more crushing and bitter” than at the start of the war.

He spoke after meeting with the Pakistani army chief, Asim Munir, as reported by the public television.

Earlier, Donald Trump had announced the suspension of a military strike against Iran, citing “serious negotiations” underway at the request of allies in the Middle East. The U.S. and Israel initiated the war with attacks on February 28, leading to Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for regional oil, natural gas, and fertilizers.

The U.S. then blocked Iranian ports, with the U.S. Central Command on Saturday reporting that American forces had turned back over 100 commercial vessels and immobilized 4 since the start of the blockade on April 13.