Although there is no official deadline, Pakistani mediators are reportedly expecting Tehran’s response later today, according to Al Jazeera.The outlet quoted an Iranian parliamentarian and a former foreign minister as saying that Iran would send a response to Washington.
Iran is currently focused on a complete cessation of war on all fronts and is not prioritizing nuclear talks at this stage.Tehran is directly seeking guarantees from the UN Security Council on the lifting of sanctions and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz before discussing its nuclear program in a possible second phase.Iran has also established a new authority called the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” to monitor maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran said maritime arrangements in the strait had changed and ships would have to communicate with Iranian authorities before transiting.
Trump signals optimism, threatens fresh attacks
US President Donald Trump has said the US has had a “very good conversation” with Iran over the past 24 hours and expressed hope the war will “end quickly.”However, Trump also warned that military action could resume if diplomacy failed. “If this doesn’t end, we’ll have to go back to bombing them,” he told PBS.According to CNN, the US and Iran are nearing a brief memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict. The proposed one-page memorandum would reportedly initiate a 30-day process to resolve disputes over Iran’s nuclear program, frozen Iranian assets and security arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.Trump said any deal would require Tehran to ship its highly enriched uranium to the US and commit to closing underground facilities.
Iran seeks relief from sanctions, insists on sovereignty
Iranian officials have rejected suggestions that a final agreement is imminent. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said Tehran was still examining the proposal, while MP Ebrahim Rezaei described the US text as “more of an American wish list than reality”.Iran has said that control over uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz remain a red line.Al Jazeera reported that Tehran is resisting calls to move its highly enriched uranium reserves out of the country.Meanwhile, according to Press TV, Brigadier General Reza Talai-Nik said the US and Israel must “accept the rights of the Iranian nation” to pave the way for ending the war.This development has come to light amidst the ongoing tension in the Gulf. Israel attacked a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut on Wednesday, while US forces reportedly fired on an Iranian-flagged tanker amid efforts to enforce Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports.