US-Iran, agreement ready but still negotiating on details
Outline agreement reached to end the conflict and reopen Hormuz. US and Tehran ratification expected but obstacles remain
Agreement in principle between Washington and Tehran, but still awaiting signature. Senior Washington officials indicated last night that a compromise to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz had been reached and would now be in the hands of President Donald Trump and Tehran's leaders, including the Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, for final approval. However, the review could take days.
The interim agreement, which according to Washington would have Khamenei's initial approval, if it survives the scrutiny would also include an Iranian commitment to renounce stockpiles of enriched uranium. According to US sources, nuclear and missile moratoriums are instead postponed to negotiating rounds following the initial understanding.
The parties, over the course of the day, cited substantial progress, albeit amid differences, amid growing anticipation for breakthroughs or tears. Trump, who remained at the White House to monitor developments, said he had instructed his diplomats to "not rush" and that a blockade of Iranian ports in Hormuz would remain "until an agreement is reached". But he added that negotiations "are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner" and that the "relationship with Iran is becoming much more professional and productive." Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, indicated that the US was ready for "very serious talks" on the nuclear issue ("you can't do something on the nuclear issue in 72 hours on a napkin," he pointed out) if there is an interim agreement that "reopens Hormuz immediately".
The memorandum is expected to provide 60 days for negotiations on crucial unresolved details, perhaps as early as 5 June, starting with the fate of Iran's enriched uranium, which could be partly diluted and partly transferred abroad, with Russia offering as in the past to receive it. Also to be clarified are the duration of the halt to Iran's nuclear programmes (Trump had hypothesised twenty years); the gradual elimination by the US of sanctions and the freezing of 25 billion of Teheran's funds; the future management of Hormuz.
Global markets thus reopen today amid revived prospects of de-escalation and uncertainties over the return of energy and geopolitical shocks. Wall Street may stall, closed for the Memorial Day holiday.
