Tehran and Washington have made progress in talks on a possible deal, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bakaei said at a weekly briefing on 25 May that the two sides had “reached a conclusion on a significant part of the issues under discussion.”
“But to say that this means the signing of the agreement is imminent – no one can make such statements,” he added.
Baqai accused Washington of changing its position during the talks and also said Tehran was charging “navigation services” fees to ships passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, rather than duties as previously proposed.
According to the Foreign Ministry spokesman, the fees relate to services provided on the waterway, including measures to protect the environment in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
He emphasised that Iran “does not seek to levy duties” on maritime transport.
Earlier, USA officials described talks with Tehran as about “90-95 per cent” complete, calling the new deal fundamentally different from the 2015 nuclear deal struck under the Obama presidency, which President Donald Trump abandoned during his first term.
Since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran on 28 February, Tehran has virtually closed the Strait of Hormuz – a key sea bottleneck – causing oil prices to surge globally.