Three senior Iranian officials say Tehran and the United States are discussing a one-page plan for both sides to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end hostilities for 30 days while they try to reach a comprehensive deal.
The talks over a short-term agreement are continuing, the officials said, with negotiators trading proposals over how to describe the framework for a potential permanent deal.
The three Iranian officials, who are close to the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, said a key obstacle was the U.S. demand for commitments in advance on the fate of Iran’s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
They said American negotiators continue to insist that Iran agree in principle to hand over the stockpile to the United States, close three nuclear facilities and suspend enrichment for 20 years. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the negotiations, but the position described by the Iranians was in line with what Americans described as the U.S. position in recent weeks.
Iran has proposed instead that some of the uranium be diluted and the rest be transferred to a third country, possibly Russia, and that enrichment be suspended for 10 to 15 years, with no mention of the three facilities, the officials said.
The high-level plan has three immediately actionable points: the lifting of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ships and ports, the opening of the strait to commercial traffic, and an end to the fighting.
The major points of conflict that have so far stymied negotiations would be left to be sorted out in the next 30 days. Those include, crucially, the future of Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief for the country and the release of Iranian funds frozen overseas.
The three Iranian officials said Tehran would agree to never seek a nuclear weapon and would agree to suspend enrichment of uranium, but the details, including the duration of that pause, are unresolved.