The United States and Iran on Monday both played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough toward ending the war, although peace talks appeared to continue.<\/p>\n
The two countries are working toward a deal that would wind down the war in the Middle East by reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipments that Iran has effectively blockaded.<\/p>\n
But on Monday night, American officials said U.S. forces had struck missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command characterized the strikes<\/a> as defensive and said they were meant \u201cto protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.\u201d And much remains uncertain<\/a> about the agreement itself.<\/p>\n One of the key questions is around Iran\u2019s nuclear program. On that issue, and others, American and Iranian officials have presented contrasting descriptions of the emerging agreement, leading to doubts about whether the deal could be finalized.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have reached conclusions on a large portion of the issues, but no one can claim that the signing of an agreement is imminent,\u201d Esmail Baghaei, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters<\/a> on Monday, according to Iran\u2019s state broadcaster.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n What has the U.S. said?<\/p>\n President Trump said in a social media post on Monday that the agreement would either be \u201cgreat and meaningful\u201d or \u201cthere will be no deal,\u201d after facing criticism from prominent Republicans that the proposal was too soft on Iran.<\/p>\n A day earlier, Mr. Trump said that he had told the Americans not to rush into a deal: \u201cBoth sides must take their time and get it right.\u201d In a separate post on Sunday, he insisted that any deal he might make with Iran would be \u201ca good and proper one,\u201d though he provided no details and made it clear much was unresolved.<\/p>\n A senior U.S. official who declined to be named, speaking to reporters on Sunday, did not offer a timeline for how long the United States would allow for a deal on the nuclear issues.<\/p>\n The official said the reopening of the strait would not inaugurate any tolls for passage, as Iranian officials have advocated.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, while on a visit to India, that the United States might have news to announce about the talks with Iran \u201cmaybe today\u201d after the two sides failed to reach a deal on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open, enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He had signaled in an interview on Sunday that the Trump administration was prepared to accept an interim agreement that didn\u2019t immediately take away Iran\u2019s ability to make nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t do a nuclear thing in 72 hours on the back of a napkin,\u201d Mr. Rubio said.<\/p>\n At this stage, the United States is not offering to unfreeze any Iranian assets, but the U.S. official said that the Americans have made clear they are willing to begin that process if Iran gives up its highly enriched uranium.<\/p>\n \u201cNo dust, no dollars,\u201d the official said, a reference to \u201cnuclear dust<\/a>,\u201d Mr. Trump\u2019s term for Iran\u2019s uranium.<\/p>\n In April, the United States began a blockade on Iranian ports and Iranian-linked ships globally. Mr. Trump said in a post<\/a> on social media on Sunday morning that it \u201cwill remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, he also called on countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia to sign on to the Abraham Accords<\/a> to normalize ties with Israel as part of the initial agreement \u2014 to which they are highly unlikely to agree. If more Arab countries sign up to the accords, it could placate some Iran hawks<\/a> in the Republican Party who have expressed misgivings about the potential deal.<\/p>\n What has Iran said?<\/p>\n Mr. Baghaei, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman, portrayed the emerging accord on Monday as a preliminary framework that does not go into detail on the thorniest issues.<\/p>\n His comments were among the most extensive yet by a top Iranian official about the emerging deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe focus of the negotiations is on ending the war and at this stage, there is no discussion about nuclear details,\u201d he said, referring to one of the key sticking points.<\/p>\n On the strait, Mr. Baghaei said the potential deal does not go into detail about how to reopen the waterway and sent a mixed message on whether Iran might still seek to charge some transit fees<\/a>.<\/p>\n Three senior Iranian officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so publicly, said on Saturday that Tehran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding<\/a> that would stop the fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, where Israel is fighting with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group; lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iran; and release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets.<\/p>\n Parts of that contradict what the Americans have said. It was unclear whether the proposal described by Iranian officials was the same one Mr. Trump was referring to on Sunday or that the U.S. official discussed with reporters on Sunday.<\/p>\n What still needs to be addressed?<\/p>\n The potential interim agreement appears to leave some of the thorniest questions surrounding Iran\u2019s nuclear program unresolved.<\/p>\n Chief among these is how Iran would dispose of its highly enriched uranium and the length of any potential moratorium on enrichment. Iran possesses a stockpile of about 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.<\/p>\n The U.S. official on Sunday said that these issues would be addressed in future negotiations.<\/p>\n