Araghchi believes US-Iran deal might be reached ‘in coming days’
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said a draft deal with the US would be signed “remotely” once finalised, which may happen “in the coming days”.“We will sign and announce this agreement when we conclude the final stages of our negotiations.” The signing will be electronic initially. Both sides will sign from a distance. “Then it will be announced that this memorandum of understanding has been signed by both parties,” Araghchi said state television in an interview.It is in the next couple of days. “I am very positive.”
There was room for improvement on the pact, he added, but the provisional agreement proved his country had come out of the fight stronger.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran wanted a deal that would allow Tehran to charge ships “for services rendered” when they passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has put a toll system in place throughout the war that the US and other countries contend violates international law.“There will be costs involved,” Araghchi added. “And those costs must be paid.
Hours after those remarks, a source familiar with the incident told Reuters that U.S. forces shot down several Iranian one-way attack drones headed for the Strait of Hormuz. The insider, who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity, claimed the drones had been a menace to commercial traffic. Later, U.S. Central Command acknowledged the action and declared the river was available for transit.
Iranian news agencies said there were explosions along the strait from Iran’s Sirik port and Qeshm island, which residents and local officials said were shots fired by Iranian forces to warn off vessels attempting to cross the waterway without permission from the navy of the Revolutionary Guards.
Sources on all sides of the talks stated the planned memorandum of understanding called for re-opening the strait and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. Then there’d be talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which President Donald Trump used as the reason for initiating the war.
The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the accord fulfilled Trump’s key goals and placed negotiations “in a very, very good place”.
Western, Pakistani and Iranian reports of the draft proposal included parameters that might play into Iran’s hands, eliciting anger from Trump who dismissed the reports as false.
The suggestions basically gave Tehran much of what it has sought with only small variances in the details, with Trump apparently winning nothing beyond reopening the strait, which Iran closed after the U.S. and Israel strikes in February.
Iran and Oman will keep control of traffic across the strait that before the conflict carried one fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply, Araqchi said.”Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz,” he declared.
A Western source said the accord may be signed as early as Sunday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, with Geneva the most likely destination.
The U.S. administration official said Europe had been explored as a venue for signing but no decision had been made.