blockaded Iranian ports for over a month<\/a>, and Trump on Sunday said the blockade “will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”<\/p>\n![\"Secretary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-W5FJHWNAQJEERDMK6MRZQOZWO4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the meeting. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The emerging deal would include Iran giving up uranium<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said that “significant progress, although not final progress, has been made” in negotiations, and the world would no longer need to fear Iran getting a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n
Rubio told India Today that the “first stage” of any deal would be the full reopening of the strait. “The second is that Iran needs to enter into serious negotiations on three topics: their pledge never to have nuclear weapons, restrictions long-term on their enrichment capabilities, and what do you do with the highly enriched uranium?”<\/p>\n
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon.”<\/p>\n
Iran’s embassy in India responded to Rubio on social media, saying Tehran has an “inalienable” right to nuclear technology. Iran has always insisted its programme is peaceful while enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.<\/p>\n
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to the two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.<\/p>\n
One official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said. Russia has offered to take it.<\/p>\n
Iran has 440.9kg of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.<\/p>\n
Trump has sought greater concessions from Iran than those required under a 2015 Obama-era agreement that the US later withdrew from under Trump.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the state-run news agency that there are “narrowing differences” between the Iranian and US positions, but Iran is cautious after being attacked twice in the past year during nuclear negotiations.<\/p>\n
Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, a key mediator, left Tehran late Saturday after more talks with Iranian officials.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/two-men-sit-in-a-small-boat-on-the-water-as-a-mix-of-bulk-ca-J65SABP22BF33HRDR2NOSVESYQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Two men sit in a small boat on the water as a mix of bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessels line the horizon in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, April 27, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The strait would reopen and Iran would be able to sell oil<\/p>\n
Under the emerging agreement, the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen in parallel with the US ending its blockade, the two regional officials told AP.<\/p>\n
The US would allow Iran to sell its oil through sanctions waivers, said the second official, who has been briefed on the negotiations. Sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s frozen funds would be negotiated during the 60-day time frame, the official said.<\/p>\n
Both officials said the draft deal includes an end to the war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Twelve weeks have passed since the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and other top officials. A ceasefire with Iran has held since April 7, though the sides have exchanged fire on occasion.<\/p>\n
Several countries, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, welcomed progress on a possible deal with Iran.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/two-israeli-soldiers-operate-in-southern-lebanon-as-seen-fro-3AY3DR6NFNE6XKYNDGYAP6O4IU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Two Israeli soldiers operate in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Israel remains concerned over Hezbollah<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a social media post Sunday, said he and Trump that “any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger,” and that Trump had reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself “on every front, including Lebanon.”<\/p>\n
Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah remains a serious threat to Israel and that Lebanon is ill-equipped to disarm it.<\/p>\n
A fragile, US-brokered ceasefire took effect in Lebanon on April 17, but fighting has continued, mainly in the south. Hezbollah has launched daily drone and rocket attacks on Israeli forces and northern Israel, and Israel has struck targets across Lebanon while its troops remain in large swaths of the south.<\/p>\n
More than 3000 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Additionally, 22 Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Netanyahu’s office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,5107,43,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-444743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}