Iran, US say an agreement is taking shape, but obstacles remain
Despite comments from President Donald Trump over the weekend, Iran says an end to the war with the U.S. is not imminent. On Monday in Tehran, Iranian officials said negotiations continue but face “obstacles” stemming from “frequent changes” in U.S. positions.
“The frequent changes in positions and contradictions, which do not really need me to explain and which you can simply observe by looking at tweets issued by U.S. officials, show what situation we are dealing with and under what conditions we must pursue a diplomatic process with such a counterpart,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters Monday. “This naturally creates its own problems and obstacles.”
Reuters reports Iran’s top negotiators are in Doha on Monday for talks on “resolving outstanding issues” with the U.S., including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and securing Iran’s stockpile of uranium.
Rubio says a deal could be finalized ‘today’
Despite Iran’s comments, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an agreement between the two countries could be finalized “today,” but cautioned if talks fail, Washington would have to find “another way” to resolve the conflict.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open,” Rubio told reporters in India on Monday, where he has been on an official visit. “Every country that we’ve walked through it (with) understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.”
Trump’s comments over the weekend
The new comments and negotiations come after Trump took to social media over the weekend, saying a deal to end the war was “largely negotiated.” As Straight Arrow previously reported, the president said negotiations are proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner” but added he’s not in a rush as “time is on our side.”
“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on Truth Social. “In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened.”
Should the U.S. and Iran come to an agreement, Iran says the deal would not address the “nuclear issue.” Rather, Iran’s foreign ministry says the agreement would include a memorandum that the Strait reopen for 60 days, and during that time, the countries will discuss nuclear-related issues.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
