Iran says many issues with US agreed but deal not imminent

Iran and the United States have "reached a conclusion on a major part of the issues under discussion," but the signing of an agreement is not imminent, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, reported Xinhua.

He made the remarks at a weekly press conference while commenting on the latest progress related to Pakistan-mediated talks between Iran and the United States aimed at ending the war.

Baghaei said developments over the past few days were the result of several weeks of talks mediated by Pakistan, adding that some other countries also offered good offices during the process.

"Therefore, it is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a major part of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent, no one can make such a claim," he noted.

Baghaei said this is due to several reasons, "including the fact that policy- and decision-making in the United States have become subject to a kind of institutionalized hesitation and the U.S. frequent changing of its positions and views, which disrupts any dialogue."

Baghaei noted that negotiations at this stage have focused on ending the war on all fronts. "We have no talks on the details of the nuclear issue," he said.

He said that future visits by the Iranian delegation to Islamabad and by the Pakistani delegation to Tehran would be possible if necessary, but no such trips have been planned for now.

On a recent EU decision to impose sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities involved in Iran's actions and policies regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei warned that any hostile action would definitely trigger Tehran's response. He emphasized that the strait was open before Feb. 28, when the war started with the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Discussions between Iran and the United States have not entered into details regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding that the strait's management method is an issue pertaining to coastal states.

He noted that Iran is in contact with relevant parties to ensure that a mechanism will be created capable of guaranteeing safety and security in the Strait of Hormuz as well as the international community's interests in the best possible way.

On Saturday, Baghaei told the state-run IRIB TV that Iran and the United States were working to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the war.

"At this stage, our focus is on ending the imposed war," Baghaei stressed. "Our intention has been to firstly agree on an MoU consisting of 14 clauses."

He noted that "within a period of 30 to 60 days," Tehran and Washington would reach a final agreement. "Among the major topics to be addressed in the MoU are the cessation of U.S. maritime attacks, or naval blockade as they themselves call it, and other issues pertaining to the release of Iranian frozen assets."

Iran and the United States reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting. Following the truce, they held one round of peace talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.

Over the past weeks, the two sides reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for peace through Pakistan's mediation.

Trump outlines different options for destroying Iran's enriched uranium

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran's enriched uranium will be destroyed after being handed over to the United States, in place, or at another "acceptable location."

"The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump did not specify how much enriched uranium was involved. The International Atomic Energy Agency has previously monitored Iran's nuclear activities under various inspection arrangements.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran had not agreed to transfer enriched uranium abroad, rejecting a report by Saudi-based Al Hadath news channel claiming that "Iran is prepared to remove its highly enriched uranium from its territory."

Tasnim said that the report about details of a potential memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tehran and Washington was not true.

"In the text of the MoU that exists to this day, there is no statement declaring (Iran's) readiness to remove nuclear materials, and Iran has essentially made no commitment regarding nuclear actions in the memorandum," according to Tasnim.

The Washington Post, citing an Iranian official, said Monday that in the first phase of a possible deal, Washington will release 12 billion U.S. dollars in frozen Iranian assets, minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz will begin, and the U.S. blockade will be lifted.

However, the deal does not include a nuclear agreement, the Iranian official was quoted as saying.