US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 23 May that “some progress has been made” in talks between Washington and Tehran and news of a possible deal could emerge in the coming days.
“There is a possibility that today, tomorrow, maybe in a couple of days we will have something to say, but this issue has to be resolved one way or another,” Rubio told reporters. His words were quoted by Axios journalist Barak Ravid.
According to the secretary of state, the US insists that Iran has not obtained nuclear weapons, transferred enriched uranium and has not imposed fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio stressed that US President Donald Trump favours a diplomatic settlement.
Tehran also said there was a convergence of positions. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the two sides were in the final stages of finalising a 14-point memorandum of understanding. “After weeks of negotiations between the two sides, we can say that the trend is towards convergence of positions,” Baghaei said.
He said the document deals with ending the war, stopping the US naval blockade and unblocking frozen Iranian assets. After agreeing on the memorandum, the sides intend to discuss the details of the final agreement within 30-60 days.
Al-Arabiya TV channel quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Iran, through a Pakistani mediator, offered to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for compensation from the US. Tehran also allegedly agreed to the temporary cancellation of fees for the passage of ships.
In addition, according to the TV channel, Iran is ready to limit uranium enrichment to 3.6 per cent for 10 years and dilute uranium enriched over 20 per cent on its territory. Now Iran is capable of enriching uranium up to 60%. A level of about 90% is required to create nuclear weapons.