A memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran to halt the war in the Middle East could be signed by Sunday. A Western official gave the information to the Reuters news agency on Friday. Geneva, in Switzerland, has emerged as the likely venue for the signing.
The official said work on finalizing the language of the memorandum was still under way. Iran is insisting that the ongoing war in Lebanon also be covered by the deal.
The aim is to finalize the language of the deal by Saturday. US Vice President JD Vance and the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, are expected to sign the agreement on behalf of their respective countries.
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that he would cancel any new strike on Iran if the terms of the deal were finalized. “We have reached a major resolution of the war with Iran,” he said.
After speaking with Iranian officials on Friday, it appeared that under the terms of the deal Tehran was securing most of its demands.
Once the deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global energy supplies, would be reopened. So far, this appears to be Trump’s only gain from the terms of the proposed deal.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that the draft deal would cover the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets, and a halt to attacks on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The initial deal would not include the nuclear issue. That would be set aside for later talks.
Washington wants to ensure that Iran never builds a nuclear weapon. But Tehran has repeatedly said it has no plan to build any such weapon.
The lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets, and a halt to Israeli attacks in Lebanon are Iran’s three main demands, the official said. The Iranian official did not say what Tehran might give Washington in return. The United States gave no immediate response on the matter.
Iran’s Mehr News agency reported that, as a condition of the deal, the United States had agreed to make further concessions. These include withdrawing US forces from around Iran and presenting a plan to rebuild Iran’s shattered economy.
Mehr’s report said the United States and its allies would have to commit at least 300 billion dollars to rebuild Iran.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report