Negotiators working on a US-Iran agreement over the war in the Gulf are being told to slow down, at least by one side, the BBC reports. President Trump said Sunday he has directed his team "not to rush into a deal," one day after describing an accord as nearly finalized. The talks center on a proposed 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, and laying out a framework for more detailed negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Trump said discussions were "constructive" but insisted "both sides must take their time and get it right." US media report the emerging arrangement would be a preliminary "memorandum of understanding," leaving major questions for later, including sanctions relief, access to frozen Iranian assets, and concrete limits on Iran's nuclear activities.
Tehran has sent mixed signals of its own. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the sides are both "very close and very far" from an agreement, while President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is prepared to reassure the world it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon. Some reports suggest Iran could eventually agree to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium; before the conflict, it was believed to hold about 970 pounds enriched up to 60% purity, short of weapons-grade but technically close. Any deal is already dividing Republicans in Washington. Sen. Ted Cruz called the reported terms "a disastrous mistake," and Sen. Roger Wicker warned a temporary ceasefire would undercut gains from recent US and Israeli strikes. Rep. Mike Lawler, however, argued the administration has forced "a real negotiation."
Trump added that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain in place until a ceasefire is finalized, Politico reports. He said US-Iran relations have become "much more professional and productive" of late. As for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Al Jazeera reports that when asked about what was holding things up, he blamed it on response time from Iran and said, "The president is not going to make a bad deal—he's just not."
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