US, Iran inch closer to deal to end the war: What to know

United States President Donald Trump says a imaginable agreement betwixt Washington and Tehran to extremity months of warfare is present “largely negotiated”, raising hopes that tensions successful the portion could easiness aft a flurry of diplomatic overtures involving aggregate countries.

The projected memorandum of knowing (MoU) reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a captious shipping lane for crude lipid and gas, arsenic good arsenic talks aimed astatine formally ending the US-Israel warfare connected Iran.

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But contempt optimistic statements from Trump, Iranian officials accidental large disagreements remain, particularly implicit the presumption of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s atomic programme and conflicts involving Tehran-backed groups successful Lebanon.

So, what has Trump said, what is the pushback from Iran, and what are the cardinal sticking points?

What did Trump say?

The president said connected his societal media level Truth Social connected Saturday that an statement betwixt the US, Iran and respective different countries successful the portion had been “largely negotiated” and that last details would beryllium announced soon.

“An Agreement has been mostly negotiated, taxable to finalization betwixt the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the assorted different Countries,” Trump wrote connected Truth Social.

He said the projected statement would see reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained efficaciously closed to astir shipping since the US-Israel warfare connected Iran began connected February 28.

Trump described the connection arsenic a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE” and said the discussions progressive Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain.

Trump said helium besides spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and it “went precise well”.

Sources told the Reuters quality bureau the projected model would unfold successful stages: formally ending the war, resolving the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and opening a 30-day dialog model for a broader statement connected sustained peace, which could beryllium extended.

On Saturday, The New York Times reported that the draught statement includes an “apparent commitment” by Iran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The report, citing 2 unnamed US officials, said details of however Iran would transportation oregon relinquish the worldly would beryllium addressed astatine a aboriginal signifier of the negotiations.

What has Iran said?

Iranian officials person confirmed negotiations are ongoing and that immoderate headway has been made. However, they person pushed backmost against immoderate of Trump’s claims.

The MoU betwixt Tehran and Washington included a roadmap to ⁠end the warfare connected each fronts, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim quality bureau reported, with the US waiving ‌sanctions connected Iranian lipid during negotiations.

Iran has not ⁠yet accepted immoderate ⁠actions connected its atomic programme, Tasnim added, saying ⁠the imaginable statement allocates ⁠30 days for procedures related to the Strait of Hormuz ‌and 60 days for ‌nuclear ‌talks.

Meanwhile, Iranian state-linked media Fars quality bureau reported aboriginal connected Sunday that the statement would let Iran to negociate the Strait of Hormuz and that Trump’s assertion connected the cardinal waterway, done which astir a 5th of the world’s lipid shipping erstwhile passed, was “inconsistent with ⁠reality”.

On Saturday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the latest connection arsenic a “framework agreement” oregon MoU that would archetypal found wide principles earlier details are negotiated implicit 30 to 60 days.

“The inclination this week has been towards a simplification successful disputes, but determination are inactive issues that request to beryllium discussed done mediators. We volition person to hold and spot wherever the concern ends successful the adjacent 3 oregon 4 days,” Baghaei said.

He told Iran’s IRNA quality bureau that Tehran’s contiguous precedence was ending the war, stopping immoderate aboriginal US attacks and the warring successful Lebanon.

What are the main sticking points?

Strait of Hormuz

A large quality betwixt Tehran and Washington is implicit the Strait of Hormuz, a captious planetary shipping way linking the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. One-fifth of the world’s lipid and liquefied earthy state (LNG) supplies were shipped done the strait earlier the warfare began.

Iran insists connected sovereignty implicit the waterway, which lies wrong the territorial waters of Iran and Oman and does not autumn into planetary waters. It has besides floated the thought of levying tolls portion the US has demanded afloat state of navigation.

Iran, successful effect, closed the strait by forbidding transits aft the warfare began, attacking ships and reportedly laying oversea mines.

Days aft the ceasefire came into effect connected April 8, the US implemented a blockade of its own. Its navy has been blocking Iranian ports to unit Tehran to reopen the captious waterway, adding different obstacle to the talks.

Iran’s atomic programme

Another main contented is Iran’s atomic programme, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium.

The US and Israel are demanding that Iran halt uranium enrichment entirely, accusing it of seeking to make a atomic weapon, without publically presenting grounds to enactment the claim.

Iran maintains that its atomic programme is solely for civilian use. Tehran is besides a signatory to the 1970 Treaty connected the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

In 2015, the US joined the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nether then-President Barack Obama. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to headdress uranium enrichment astatine 3.67 percent — acold beneath weapons-grade levels — and let inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify that it was not pursuing atomic weapons. In exchange, planetary sanctions connected Iran were eased.

However, successful 2018, during his archetypal word successful office, Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA, contempt the IAEA stating that Iran had been complying with the statement astatine the time.

In March 2025, Tulsi Gabbard, the incumbent manager of nationalist intelligence, told Congress that agencies are continuing “to measure that Iran is not gathering a atomic weapon”.

Is a woody achievable?

Iran adept and cofounder of the Quincy Institute, Trita Parsi, says though the MoU agreed betwixt Iran and the US did not see large substantive concessions from either side, it was astatine slightest a motion of willingness to determination towards a broader deal.

“The information appraisal of who blinked archetypal volition not travel until we spot what the last result is, aft we walk different 30 days, and hopefully it won’t beryllium longer than that until we get to a last statement connected the atomic issue,” Parsi told Al Jazeera.

He added that it was not wide if Iran would straight beryllium fixed reparations for the conflict, a cardinal demand, but said if sanctions are lifted and the atomic contented addressed, “it would apt beryllium a bigger woody than the Obama statement successful 2015”.

Other analysts person pointed retired that the acquiescence of Israel volition beryllium a cardinal origin successful deciding whether a woody tin beryllium reached.

Academic Setareh Sadeqi said a connection was sent to Trump that determination is simply a wide determination tendency to scope an statement and marque peace, but that the messaging has astatine times been contradictory.

“We [are] seeing some parties accidental they are precise adjacent but precise far, and that the subject enactment is inactive connected the table,” Sadeqi, adjunct prof of satellite studies astatine the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera.

She said the situation for Trump is whether helium tin defy Israel’s interests and propulsion the woody through, with Israel reportedly looking to scupper immoderate agreement.