Iran has agreed not to build a nuclear weapon and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in return the US will release some $25 billion in frozen assets as part of a President Trump-brokered peace deal, according to details released by Tehran on Sunday.
Washington and Tehran are expected to electronically sign a memorandum of understanding on Sunday following a virtual meeting, which will set the table for negotiations over a longer-term deal on Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reported.
Iranian officials were cautiously optimistic that a deal to finally halt the conflict which has raged for three and a half months, throwing world markets into chaos, was on the horizon.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a deal would be signed on Sunday and would immediately result in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies flow.
“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalization likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical-level talks next week,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif explained on social media.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the deal could happen in the next few days.
The deal, which would see $25 billion in Iranian assets unfrozen by the US, does not solve all issues between Tehran and Washington, but offers a 60-day framework for technical discussions on the issues, according to officials from Pakistan.
The US would also end its blockade of Iranian-linked ships coming out of the strait.
Shipping traffic through the narrow sea passage — through which 20% of the world’s oil flowed before the war — has slowed to a trickle.
Qatari negotiators flew into Tehran Sunday morning in coordination with the US to help facilitate the finalizing of the agreement, an official told the New York Times.
A signing ceremony was reportedly expected for the coming days in Geneva, Switzerland, where US and Iranian negotiators met for talks in February before the start of the war.
Vice President JD Vance would potentially be the head of the US delegation, while Iran is sending its top negotiator, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
However, on Sunday, there were conflicting reports over whether Iranian officials were being scrambled to travel abroad soon.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry insisted Saturday there were no plans for his negotiating team to travel to Geneva or elsewhere in the next day or two.
