WASHINGTON, MAY 23: The United States and Iran are on the verge of agreeing to a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire agreement, during which most issues that arose during the negotiations would be addressed, The Financial Times reported on Saturday.
The report notes that the terms of this deal would include the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key issue raised by both the US and Iran after each country imposed closures and blockades of the waterway.
The report comes after the Pakistan Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, left Tehran on Saturday after another round of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Iran’s top negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
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The military said in a statement that Munir’s talks with Iran’s president and other senior officials during a visit to Tehran on ending the war with Iran were highly productive.
Negotiations over the past 24 hours had resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding, the statement added.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran last week.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran last week. (credit: The Inter-Services Public Relations/Handout via Reuters)
Rubio says progress made on Iran
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that some progress has been made on Washington’s dispute with Iran and that the US might have “something to say” on the issue in the coming days.
“There’s been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, or in a couple of days, we may have something to say,” Rubio told reporters during his visit to New Delhi.
Earlier on Friday, a report by Axios revealed that US President Donald Trump was considering resuming attacks against Iran if there wasn’t any significant development in the coming 24 hours, with the president “losing his patience with diplomacy.”
Iran says agreement ‘still far yet close’
Ghalibaf told Munir in their meeting that Iran’s armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that if the US “foolishly restarts the war,” the consequences would be “more crushing and bitter.”
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson later told Iran’s State TV on Saturday that the US and Iran are “very far yet close [to reach an agreement], but US officials keep changing their positions.
The spokesperson explained that Iran’s main priority is to end the war, something that would include ending the fighting in Lebanon, while an important issue is ending the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The issue of the Strait, according to the spokesperson, has “nothing to do with America,” describing it as a matter between Iran and the Gulf States.
