TEHRAN, 24 MAY (DNA) — Iran has not agreed to hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium despite reports suggesting progress in negotiations with the United States, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday.  According to the source, Tehran’s nuclear programme was not included in the preliminary understanding currently being discussed between Iran and the United States.

The official said issues related to uranium enrichment and stockpiles would be addressed in future negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement.  “The nuclear issue will be addressed in negotiations for a final agreement and is therefore not part of the current deal,” the source said, adding that “there has been no agreement over Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile to be shipped out of the country.”

  However, Iranian officials reportedly acknowledged that talks with Washington had made significant progress and that a broader deal was “almost done,” amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region.

US President Donald Trump had earlier stated that an agreement with Iran was “largely negotiated,” with further announcements expected soon. Reports indicate the proposed framework could include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, extending a ceasefire and beginning wider negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. — DNA

MANAMA, MAY 24: A Bahraini court sentenced nine defendants to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out what it described as “hostile and terrorist acts” against Bahrain, the state news agency reported on Sunday.

The defendants were involved in gathering information on sensitive sites and facilitating related financial transfers, the statement said.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said on May 9 that it had arrested 41 people it said were linked to the IRGC. The ministry said security authorities had uncovered a group tied to the IRGC.

Iran launched attacks on targets in Bahrain and other Gulf Arab states hosting US military bases after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

TEHRAN: The Islamic Republic will continue funding and supporting its network of proxies, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi promised in a message sent to Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, the regime official confirmed on Telegram.

Naming Hezbollah explicitly, Araghchi promised the regime “will not abandon support for movements seeking rights and freedom until the very last moment.”

He added that a ceasefire in Lebanon was a key term in any potential ceasefire deal with Washington, though the war against Hezbollah is being fought by Israel and not the US.

Maj. (res.) Alexander Grinberg, an expert on Iran from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, explained to The Jerusalem Post that for Tehran, abandoning proxies at this junction would be “political suicide,” and that ending its support would signal to both its allies and enemies that it is significantly weakened.

While he said Iran would always “try” to support its proxies, the depth of its support has changed and will change based on its own abilities. He said the regime was no longer able to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah through Syria and must now rely on crypto-payments as a means of financial support. This support, he said, would continue for as long as possible despite Tehran’s economic struggles.

Lebanon becomes sticking point in US-Iran deal talks
Araghchi’s promise to Hezbollah comes in tandem with US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday that a deal had been “largely negotiated,” though US officials speaking to Axios suggested that issues surrounding nuclear disarmament were still being discussed.

Hezbollah violated an existing ceasefire between Israel and the terror group in response to the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The decision to drag Lebanon into another war, as it did on October 8, 2023, has led to a new array of domestic legislation aimed at demilitarizing the terrorist organization, motivated in part by the large-scale displacement brought on by the conflict.

While Iran may push to see Lebanon included in a potential agreement, Israeli officials have commented that Washington cannot make such a deal on behalf of Jerusalem, noting that civilians living in northern Israel will be left paying the price for such an arrangement.

MK Benny Gantz, addressing the reports of Lebanon being an Iranian condition in a ceasefire deal, commented that “Israel has an obligation to protect its residents regardless of any external factor” and such an agreement would be “a strategic mistake that we will pay for for years to come.”

He urged, “Israel needs to say to the US: ‘No.’”

KAN also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned about the inclusion of Lebanon in an agreement with Tehran. A political source told the public broadcaster that Netanyahu communicated to Trump that “Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon.”

While Netanyahu may have communicated Israel’s intentions to continue securing its northern border by ensuring Hezbollah cannot rebuild past the Litani River, a US official indicated to Axios that Trump may still be willing to include Lebanon in the agreement.

“Bibi has his domestic considerations, but Trump has the interests of the US and the global economy to think about,” the US official commented.

WASHINGTON, MAY 24: Washington and Iran have “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said, as expectations rose that a turning point might be imminent in the three-month-old war.

Trump posted on social media that the emerging agreement would reopen the strait, the vital shipping passage whose closure has sparked a global energy crisis since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in February. He did not say what else would be included in an agreement.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

Various media in the US and Iran said the memorandum that could yield an agreement lays out a phased framework for ending months of fighting, reopening the waterway soon and lifting a US blockade on Iran. Plans for Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which Washington has insisted it give up, would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days, the reports said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on a visit to India, said more news could come on Sunday and there was a possibility of good news on the strait within hours. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that if Iran’s Supreme National Security Council approved the memorandum, it would be sent to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei for final approval.

But Iran’s Tasnim news agency said differences remained over one or two clauses. Tasnim cited a source as saying there would be no final understanding if the US continued to create obstacles.

Iran’s nuclear program in focus

A deal cementing a fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but would not immediately quell a global energy crisis, which has driven up costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.

Even if the war ends now, full oil flows through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm ADNOC said last week.

Axios reported late on Saturday that the US and Iran were close to a deal, which it said would include no tolls on ships transiting the strait, while Iran would be able to freely sell oil.

In exchange, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and waive some sanctions on Iranian oil, the US news outlet said, citing a US official.

The draft agreement also includes commitments from Iran never to pursue nuclear weapons, Axios said.

Trump, while offering various war aims during the conflict, has repeatedly said the US struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran has long denied it is pursuing such weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, although the purity it has achieved far exceeds that needed for power generation.

Iran’s Fars news agency said the draft also stipulates that the US and its allies will not attack Iran or its allies, and in return Iran pledges not to launch preemptive attacks on them.

Prominent Israeli politician Benny Gantz said it would be a strategic mistake for Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, as part of a deal with Iran.

He posted on X that Israel had an obligation to protect residents near the border and should reject any such proposal by the US

Sources have told Reuters the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.

One of the Pakistani sources said that if the US accepts the memorandum, further talks could take place after the Muslim Eid holiday ends on Friday.

Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war’s impact on US energy prices, said on Friday he would not attend his son’s wedding this weekend, citing Iran among the reasons for staying in Washington.

Tasnim said any changes in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz were conditional on implementation of other commitments by the US It also said some Iranian funds that have been frozen globally as part of sanctions must be released in the first phase of the deal.

‘Issues still need to be discussed,’ Iran says

Trump spoke on Saturday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, who encouraged Trump to agree to the emerging framework, Axios reported.

A call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went “very well,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Saturday that “the trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators.”

Baghaei said the issue of the US blockade on Iran’s shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new US attacks and the conflict in Lebanon.

Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran’s armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that, if the US restarted the war, the consequences would be “more forceful and bitter” than at the start of the conflict.