- US President Trump said a deal with Iran is possible but threatened renewed bombing if talks fail
- The US proposed a 14-point memorandum to end war and start detailed nuclear negotiations with Iran
- The memo includes a nuclear moratorium, sanctions relief, and enhanced inspections by UN inspectors
US President Donald Trump has said that a deal with Tehran was "very possible" but threatened to bomb Iran again if negotiations fell apart. Trump's optimistic remarks about a diplomatic breakthrough came as the US proposed a one-page memorandum of understanding that could open the door to longer-term negotiations and end the three-month-long global ordeal.
Iran is yet to respond to a new US proposal, with its chief negotiator warning that Washington was seeking to force the Islamic republic's "surrender". However, citing sources, news agency Reuters and American publication Axios reported that the foes were "closing in on a one-page memo to end their war" in the Middle East and "set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations."
Nothing has been agreed yet, but the sources told Axios that this was the closest the two parties had been to an agreement since the war began. Negotiators in Washington are expecting Tehran's responses on several key points in the next 48 hours.
Leaks about the one-page memo -- which contains 14 key points --have come from Washington and negotiator Pakistan, with Iran remaining largely quiet about it. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran, which still seems to be holding the diplomatic upper hand despite weeks of Israeli and US bombing, will only accept "a fair and comprehensive agreement," without directly mentioning the draft memo.
Provision in Memo
Axios reported that among other provisions, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the US agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
In its current form, the memorandum has been kept deliberately thin-- a framework rather than a full treaty. It would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement on key demands on both sides, Axios added.
Those negotiations could happen in Islamabad or Geneva, two sources said.
Per the Axios report, the two sides are actively discussing the duration of the moratorium on uranium enrichment, with sources placing the landing spot at least 12 to 15 years. Earlier, Iran had proposed a 5-year moratorium on enrichment, and the US demanded 20.
Moreover, the Americans also want to insert a provision whereby any Iranian violation of enrichment would prolong the moratorium. After the timeline expires, Tehran would reportedly be able to enrich to the low level of 3.67 per cent.
Iran would also be required to commit to a provision to never seek a nuclear weapon or conduct weaponisation-related activities, the report said.
The MOU also reportedly has a clause whereby Iran would commit not to operate underground nuclear facilities and commit to an enhanced inspections regime, including snap inspections by UN inspectors.
On America's part, the MOU requires Washington to gradually lift the sanctions imposed on Iran and release billions of dollars in Iranian funds that are frozen around the world.
Two sources with knowledge also claimed Iran would be required to remove its highly enriched uranium from the country, a key US priority that Tehran has rejected up to now. One option being discussed is moving the material to the US, the report said.
Brief Solutions
Many of the terms laid out in the 14-point memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached between Tehran and Washington, leaving the possibility of renewed conflict or extended tensions, in which the hot war has stopped but nothing is truly resolved.
The memorandum of understanding, seemingly an initiative from the US, whose President Donald Trump is trying to extricate himself from a war, is being negotiated between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and several Iranian officials, both directly and through mediators, the report said.
However, the Trump administration believes the Iranian leadership is currently fractured, and it may be hard to forge consensus across the moderates and hardline factions. Some US officials even remain sceptical whether an initial deal could be reached, Axios reported.
What US Said
Trump has said that if "Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to," the war would be over, but if not, the bombing would resume "at a much higher level and intensity."
"We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal," Trump later told reporters.
Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that "we don't have to have the actual agreement written in one day."
"This is highly complex and technical. But we have to have a diplomatic solution that is very clear on the topics they are willing to negotiate on and the extent of the concessions they are willing to make at the front end in order to make it worthwhile," he added.
But State Secretary also called Iran's top leaders "insane in the brain" and said it was unclear whether they would make a deal.
Iran's Reply
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told local media that the "US plan and proposal are still under review," and that Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan "after finalising its views."
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker who has taken the lead in negotiations, meanwhile warned that Washington "is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country's cohesion in order to force us to surrender."
