DUBAI — The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, regional officials said on Sunday, as Tehran insisted the agreement would do nothing to limit its nuclear program.Washington’s top diplomat Marco Rubio had said during a visit to India on Sunday that the US and Iran could strike a deal in the next few hours, but President Donald Trump said he told representatives “not to rush into a deal.”The strait’s reopening would ease a worldwide energy crisis sparked by the US and Israeli bombardment of Iran on Feb. 28, which led Tehran to effectively close the waterway. Prices have spiked for oil, gas and related products. Experts say it would take several weeks or even months for shipping and prices to recover once the strait reopens.European leaders, keen to see Hormuz open and energy prices fall, welcomed the optimism. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed “progress toward an agreement,” while Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to work with “international partners to seize this moment.”Trump said Sunday that he had told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war.“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”Trump said negotiations were “proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner,” and the relationship with Iran was becoming “much more professional and productive.” He pushed back against criticism by some fellow Republicans seeking a tougher approach.The US has blockaded Iranian ports for over a month, and Trump said it “will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”Iranian officials confirmed the existence of a draft agreement, but stressed that — despite the long-standing US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment — talks on the issue of Iran’s contested nuclear program have been deferred for 60 days after any deal.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.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.A US official confirmed the 60-day period and said if Iran doesn’t give up its stockpile there will be no sanctions relief. The official spoke on condition of anonymity about the emerging deal because it has not been made public.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.Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium, a key Trump demand. President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon.”Iran has always insisted its program is peaceful while enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, and asserts its right to nuclear technology.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.Rubio told India Today that the “first stage” ahead 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?”Trump has sought greater concessions from Iran than those required under a 2015 Obama-era agreement that the US later withdrew from under Trump.On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told the state-run news agency 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.Under the emerging agreement, the Strait of Hormuz would gradually reopen in parallel with the US ending its blockade, the two regional officials and the US official said.The US official said the strait would be demined, though a US official on Friday said the military has not found any mines there.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 period, the official said.Both officials said the draft deal includes an end to the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon that began two days after the Iran war started.Twelve weeks have passed since the US and Israel attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and other top officials. A ceasefire has held since April 7, though the sides have exchanged fire on occasion.Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a social media post said he and Trump agreed 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.”The US official said the deal would guarantee Israel’s right to act against imminent threats in self-defense.Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah remains a serious threat to Israel and that Lebanon is ill-equipped to disarm it.Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!“Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.Meanwhile, Pakistan, which mediated historic face-to-face negotiations between US and Iranian delegations in April, hopes to host another round of talks “very soon,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
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