WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran, including opening the Strait of Hormuz, has been \u201clargely negotiated\u201d after calls with Israel and other allies in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinal aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,\u201d Trump said on social media, with no details on timing. He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel.<\/p>\n
He described it as a \u201cMemorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE\u201d that still must be finalized by the United States, Iran and the other countries that participated in Saturday\u2019s talks.<\/p>\n
There was no mention of Iran\u2019s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, which Iran has sought to discuss later.<\/p>\n
There had been growing optimism among officials<\/p>\n
The United States and Iran were closing in on a deal to end\u00a0the war<\/a>, a regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts said earlier Saturday, after the U.S. weighed a new round of\u00a0attacks on the Islamic Republic<\/a>.<\/p>\n The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations, cautioned that \u201clast-minute disputes\u201d could blow up the efforts. This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.<\/p>\n He said the potential deal would include an official declaration of the war\u2019s end, with two-month negotiations on Iran\u2019s nuclear program. The\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/a>\u00a0would be reopened and the U.S. would end its blockade of Iran\u2019s ports.<\/p>\n Iran, meanwhile, had signaled \u201cnarrowing differences\u201d in\u00a0negotiations with the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0after Pakistan\u2019s army chief held more talks in Tehran, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that \u201cthere\u2019s been some progress made\u201d and \u201cthere may be news later today.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Iran and the U.S. emphasized their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire. Rubio repeated the U.S. stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be open.<\/p>\n Iran describes it as a \u2018framework agreement\u2019 for more talks<\/p>\n Iran state TV earlier quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a \u201cframework agreement\u201d and adding: \u201cWe want this to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us. Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 to 60 days, details are discussed and ultimately a final agreement is reached.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the Strait of Hormuz is among the topics discussed.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences,\u201d Baghaei told Iran\u2019s official IRNA news agency, adding that nuclear issues are not part of current negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cOur focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,\u201d Baghaei said, adding that lifting sanctions on Tehran \u201chas explicitly been included in the text and remains our fixed position.\u201d<\/p>\n The Iranian-backed Hezbollah\u2019s Al-Manar TV reported that the Lebanese militant group\u2019s leader, Naim Kassim, received a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Tehran will not abandon its allies. There is a fragile,\u00a0U.S.-brokered ceasefire<\/a>\u00a0in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, a conflict that began two days after the Iran war started.<\/p>\n Limiting Tehran\u2019s support for armed proxies in the region has been a stated goal in the war, along with targeting its ballistic missile program.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in\u00a0historic face-to-face talks<\/a>\u00a0with the U.S. last month in Islamabad, said\u00a0Iran has rebuilt its military assets<\/a>\u00a0and if Trump resumes attacks, the result would be \u201cmore crushing and more bitter\u201d than at the start of the war.<\/p>\n State TV said he spoke after meeting with Pakistan\u2019s army chief Asim Munir, who also met with Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Qatar sent a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n Trump had said \u2018serious negotiations\u2019 were underway<\/p>\n Trump earlier said he was\u00a0holding off<\/a>\u00a0on a military strike against Iran because \u201cserious negotiations\u201d were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East. Trump has\u00a0repeatedly set deadlines<\/a>\u00a0for Tehran and then backed off.<\/p>\n The U.S. and Israel sparked the war with attacks on Feb. 28, cutting short nuclear talks with Iran. Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region\u2019s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.<\/p>\n The U.S. then\u00a0blockaded<\/a>\u00a0Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command on Saturday said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.<\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n