Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP)
The USA and Iran can already reach an agreement on Sunday to end the Middle Eastern war.
However, Iran said the deal would do nothing to limit its nuclear program. There has been a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators apply pressure for a negotiated settlement.
“I think maybe there is a possibility that the world will get some good news within the next few hours,” Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, told reporters on a visit to India on Sunday.
It came after pres. Donald Trump said on social media that the deal was “largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the US, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the various other countries”.
Rubio said the deal would begin a “process that can finally leave us where the president wants us to be, which is a world that no longer has to fear or worry about an Iranian nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s post emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened.
European leaders, eager to see Hormuz reopen and energy prices fall, welcomed the optimism.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, praised “progress towards an agreement”, while Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of Britain, undertook to “work with international partners to seize this moment”.
Iranian officials have confirmed the existence of a draft agreement, but stressed that – despite the continued US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment – talks on the issue of Iran’s disputed nuclear program have been postponed for 60 days after any agreement.
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, Washington has agreed to release part of Tehran’s funds frozen abroad under international sanctions and to end its naval blockade of ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.
In return, “under this draft agreement, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will return to pre-war levels under Iranian management”.
Sanctions on oil, gas and petrochemicals are also believed to be temporarily lifted during the negotiation period so that Iran can sell its products freely.
Leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as representatives of Turkey and Pakistan, discussed the deal with Trump on Saturday.
Trump said a separate call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “went very well”. The US and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28.