US President Donald Trump said on Sunday a deal with Iran was “very close”, although doubts persisted over the timing of an agreement.
The US and Iran are expected to agree an initial 14-point text that would set a timetable for further talks, in what would be the biggest step yet towards ending the regional war. The Strait of Hormuz could reopen immediately.
But by Sunday night in Iran, there was no sign of any agreement being finalised, despite Mr Trump’s comments. Pro-regime media in Iran said views were still being exchanged through Qatari mediators.
Mr Trump bristled at Israel on Sunday after a new strike on Beirut that risked derailing the talks. Iran hinted it could retaliate after at least three people were killed in the bombing, which Israel said was a strike on a Hezbollah command centre.
“This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace – let’s not blow it!” Mr Trump said on Sunday, his 80th birthday.
The US President has said the deal would stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping – the two issues that have most plagued negotiators since talks were first announced in March. “We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon,” he said.
Mediators from Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have played a vital role in narrowing the differences between Iran and the US, sources told The National on Sunday. Of the four mediators, Pakistan and Qatar have played a more active role in the final stretch of talks, they said.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, praised the country's leadership for its handling of the regional crisis as an agreement neared. The UAE bore the heaviest burden of Iranian strikes on the Gulf during the main phase of the war.
In a post on X, Dr Gargash said the agreement could close the chapter on the war and open a political path that he hoped would be successful. He said the UAE leadership demonstrated wisdom, steadfastness and flexibility in managing the repercussions of the conflict.
The war has killed thousands of people across the Middle East, caused economic turmoil worldwide and drawn in countries with pro-Iran factions such as Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
An Iranian official told Reuters the deal would provide for the US to waive oil sanctions for a specified period. The US could also agree not to impose new sanctions until a final deal is reached. Iran has previously asked for at least $24 billion in frozen assets to be released as part of an agreement.
Some Iranian hardliners have come out in opposition to a deal. In the north-eastern city of Mashhad, demonstrators were reported chanting “death to the compromiser” and “compromiser, resign, resign”. Protests were also reported in Tehran.
Negotiations have been on and off again since April after the US and Israel paused their six-week assault on Iran. Pakistan hosted peace talks in Islamabad that initially ended in failure but the country has continued to offer its services as a mediator behind the scenes.
“The mediators played different roles during the different stages that weeks of negotiations had gone through, but it was Pakistan and Qatar that had the bigger role in the final stages,” one of the sources said.
“It's a memorandum of understanding of 14 points that provides a timeline for resolving every issue. It may take as long as one year to negotiate a permanent settlement of the conflict between Iran and the US.”
The ceasefire was at risk of veering off course in recent days as Iran, the US and Israel all carried out some of their heaviest strikes in weeks.
The escalation was prompted by an Israeli attack on Beirut last Sunday, which crossed a line for the Iranian leadership. The US also increased enforcement of its naval blockade, firing on at least three ships off the coast of Oman.
Israel carried out a further strike on Beirut on Sunday, saying it was responding to rocket fire by Hezbollah. At least three people were reported killed.
Top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament, said the attack on Beirut showed the US either lacks the will or the ability to fulfil its commitments. But Mr Trump played down the prospect of the strikes derailing the talks, while chiding his Israeli allies for putting the process at risk.
“Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless,” Mr Trump said.
All four mediators are close US allies, but also have relations at some level with Iran. Tehran has attacked its Arab neighbours in the Gulf with missiles and drones since the US and Israel began the war with strikes on Iran in February.
Leaders of two of the mediators – Egypt and Qatar – are to meet separately with Mr Trump on the sidelines of this week's G7 summit in France, the White House said.
