The United States and Iran have agreed in principle to a deal that would wind down the war in the Middle East by reopening the Strait of Hormuz and committing Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium, a senior U.S. official who declined to be named told reporters on Sunday.<\/p>\n
But President Trump, in a post<\/a> on social media on Sunday afternoon, noted that the deal \u201cisn\u2019t even fully negotiated yet.\u201d<\/p>\n A day earlier, Esmail Baghaei, Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman, said that Washington and Tehran were in the \u201cfinal stage\u201d of drafting a memorandum of understanding and \u201cmay be able to reach a mutually acceptable solution.\u201d Neither Iran\u2019s leaders nor official state media have publicly commented on the substance of any potential agreement.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n What has the U.S. said?<\/p>\n In his post on social media on Sunday afternoon, Mr. Trump 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 The U.S. official speaking to reporters on Sunday said the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz \u2014 a critical waterway that has been effectively blockaded by Iran amid the war \u2014 would not inaugurate any tolls for passage, as Iranian officials have advocated.<\/p>\n Reopening the strait would alleviate economic pressure on the global economy, reassure the markets and create space to address the nuclear issues, the official said, without offering a timeline for how long the United States would allow for a deal on the nuclear issues.<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview from India on Sunday, signaled 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 who briefed reporters said that the Americans have made clear they are willing to begin that process if Iran gives up its highly enriched uranium. \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 What has Iran said?<\/p>\n Iran has not formally responded to Mr. Trump\u2019s comments. But 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; reopen the Strait of Hormuz without any tolls; lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iran; and release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets.<\/p>\n It was unclear whether the proposal described by the Iranian officials was the same one Mr. Trump was referring to in his posts on Sunday or that the U.S. official was discussing with reporters on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Iranian officials told The New York Times that the proposal said nothing about the fate of Iran\u2019s nuclear program, only that a plan for dealing with the country\u2019s highly enriched uranium would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days.<\/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 Under the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration, Iran turned most of its stockpile over to Russia<\/a>, an arrangement that could serve as a model again. Another possibility would involve diluting the uranium to lower enrichment levels that could not be made into a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n The United States has in previous rounds of negotiations sought at least a 20-year moratorium on enrichment. Iran has proposed a far shorter timeline. The American official said on Sunday that the precise timeline mattered less than the mechanism by which the restrictions were enforced.<\/p>\n The deal under discussion now also does not address Iran\u2019s missile stockpile, the U.S. official said. That is a critical issue to the Israelis, who are within reach of many of Iran\u2019s ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n What has been the reaction?<\/p>\n Some Republicans and Iran hawks have denounced the potential agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make too much sense to me,\u201d Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said Sunday on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d Mr. Tillis called the Iranians\u2019 commitment to reopening the Strait of Hormuz \u201cquestionable\u201d without a finalized peace deal. \u201cThere are a lot of things that need to be explained,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on social media<\/a> that a \u201c60-day ceasefire \u2014 with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith \u2014 would be a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, whose country joined the U.S. attack that started the war in late February, said in a statement on Sunday evening that he discussed the potential agreement with Mr. Trump on a call on Saturday night and that they both agreed Iran could not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. He also said that Mr. Trump had affirmed Israel\u2019s right to defend itself, including in Lebanon.<\/p>\n