What we know about the possible US-Iran deal

The United States and Iran appear closer than ever to a deal that would end a war that has engulfed the Middle East and disrupted the global oil market. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the world might “get some good news” soon after President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been “largely negotiated” and would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Before Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei spoke of “a trend towards rapprochement” with Washington, but warned that “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues.” He said on state television that Iran’s “intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement,” before a final deal is reached within 30 to 60 days. What do we know about the possible agreement? Nuclear question Baqaei said that the nuclear issue was not be part of an initial framework. It will rather be “subject to separate discussions” at a later stage. But the New York Times, citing two unnamed American officials, said a key element of the proposed agreement was an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The question of how Iran would do so would be discussed in “later round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme,” according to the paper. But Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Iran made no commitments regarding its nuclear programme. “Iran has made no commitment in this agreement to hand over nuclear stockpiles, remove equipment, shut down facilities, or even commit not to build a nuclear bomb,” Fars said. Both agencies said that nuclear-related issues would be negotiated within 60 days of the understanding being signed. How will Hormuz reopen? A key sticking point in the talks is traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global conduit for oil shipments that has come under Iranian control since the outbreak of the war. Iran has insist