ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The United States and Iran are close to agreeing on a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, two regional officials and a diplomat said Saturday, as the U.S. weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Iran signaled “narrowing differences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that “there’s been some progress made” and “there may be news later today.”
The officials and diplomat expressed hope that a final decision on the Pakistan-prepared draft could come within 48 hours as both sides review it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
They said Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner played significant roles in helping bridge remaining gaps, and that Qatar played a key role by sending a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
Still, both Iran and the U.S. emphasized their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks.
A ‘framework agreement’
Iran state TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a “framework agreement,” adding: “We want this to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us. Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 to 60 days, details are discussed and ultimately a final agreement is reached.”
He said the Strait of Hormuz is among the topics discussed.
Positions have moved closer in recent days, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Baghaei as saying.
“Over the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences,” he said. “We will have to wait and see what happens over the next three or four days.”
Baghaei said nuclear issues are not part of the current negotiations, as Tehran first seeks to end the war before discussing its nuclear program that has long been at the heart of international tensions.
“Our focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” Baghaei said, adding that lifting sanctions on Tehran “has explicitly been included in the text and remains our fixed position.”
Rubio said that “even as I speak to you now there is some work being done. There is a chance that whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days we may have something to say.”
Rubio repeated the U.S. stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be open.
Iran has rebuilt military assets after weeks of war and then a fragile ceasefire, parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said after the meeting with Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir, state TV reported.
Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the U.S. last month, also said the result would be “more crushing and more bitter” than at the start of the war if President Trump resumes attacks.
‘Serious negotiations’ were underway
Trump earlier said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because “serious negotiations” were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East. He has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.
The U.S. and Israel sparked the war by attacking Iran on Feb. 28, cutting short ongoing talks at the time with Tehran. Iran retaliated by essentially closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.
The U.S. then blockaded Iranian ports, and the U.S. Central Command on Saturday said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.
There was progress in the talks between Pakistan’s army chief and Iran’s leadership, two officials in Islamabad said, describing the discussions as moving “in the right direction.” The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record.
Munir also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials, the two officials said, adding that Pakistan continues efforts to arrange a second round of direct negotiations.
It was not clear whether Pakistan’s army chief met with Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who heads Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in talks.
Ahmed and Lee write for the Associated Press. Lee reported from Washington.
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