CAIRO (AP) \u2014 The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran\u00a0that would end the war, reopen the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz\u00a0and see Iran give up its stockpile of\u00a0highly enriched uranium, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. They said details and timelines would be worked out later.<\/p>\n
Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium, a key demand of U.S. President\u00a0Donald Trump, who on Saturday said a deal had been “largely negotiated,” after calls with Israel and other regional allies. The sides have previously seemed close to a deal in recent weeks only to see diplomacy falter.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump says deal with Iran, including opening Strait of Hormuz, is ‘largely negotiated’<\/a><\/p>\n “The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal,” Trump said on social media Sunday. He said the U.S. relationship with Iran is becoming “much more professional and productive.”<\/p>\n The agreement will not be signed Sunday, according to a person familiar with the status of negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.<\/p>\n The strait’s reopening would begin to ease a\u00a0worldwide energy crisis\u00a0sparked by the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran on Feb. 28, which led Tehran to effectively close the waterway. Prices have spiked for oil, gas and several related products, jolting the world economy. Experts say it would take several weeks or even months for shipping and prices to recover once the strait is reopened.<\/p>\n The U.S. has\u00a0blockaded Iranian ports\u00a0for over a month, and Trump on Sunday said the blockade “will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”<\/p>\n The emerging deal would include Iran giving up uranium<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio,\u00a0on 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 program is peaceful while enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Trump says U.S. will work with Iran to ‘dig up’ enriched uranium. Iran hasn’t confirmed that<\/a><\/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 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) 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\u00a0U.S. later withdrew from\u00a0under 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 U.S. 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 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 U.S. ending its blockade, the two regional officials told AP.<\/p>\n The U.S. 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