The United States and Iran are not quite at the finish line, but are very close to a deal to resolve their conflict, a senior U.S. official said on Friday, adding that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days.
“The negotiating team has got us in a very good spot, but let’s see here, we’re not quite at the finish line yet, but we are very close,” the U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters.
The official said the terms agreed accomplish U.S. President Donald Trump’s core objectives and “gets it in a very, very good place at the end of it.” The terms of the so-called memorandum of understanding (MOU) include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a lifting of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, the official told reporters. The MOU would lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s highly enriched uranium would be destroyed on site and then taken out of the country, the official said. The terms also include an inspection regime to ensure that it is enforceable in the long term. Iran, if they comply, will be relieved of economic pressures, including the unfreezing of its assets and sanctions relief, the official added.
“The Iranians don’t get anything upon the signing of the MOU or upon the negotiation itself,” the official said.
“They get rewarded economically for complying with their obligations under the deal. So if they turn over the nuclear material as promised, they’ll get something. If they dismantle their nuclear program or their nuclear facilities, they’ll get something else,” said the official.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Michelle Nichols )