Washington, United States. Draft terms of a proposed memorandum to end the war in the Gulf appeared to strongly favour Iran, according to Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources cited on Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump said reports on the proposed deal were inaccurate.
Draft terms shared by multiple sources
Versions and accounts of the memorandum were provided to Reuters by Western sources, sources from mediator Pakistan and senior Iranian sources. The terms were also published in Iranian media.
The sources said the text was not yet final. A Western source, an Iranian source and a Gulf source said one key unresolved issue was language on ceasing hostilities in Lebanon, where Iran has demanded that Israel end its campaign against Iran’s allies in the Hezbollah militia.
Terms largely reflect Tehran’s earlier proposals
While there were minor differences among the accounts, all versions appeared to accept the principal terms proposed by Tehran two months ago during initial face-to-face negotiations. Those terms had previously been repeatedly rejected by Washington.
In a social media post, Trump did not specify what was inaccurate in reports on the proposed deal, but said: “The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing.”
He added: “Very dishonorable people to deal with,” referring to the Iranians.
Sanctions relief and Hormuz blockade
According to the terms described by the sources to Reuters, the United States would immediately provide Iran with billions of dollars in unfrozen assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports. In return, Iran would lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the war began.
Nuclear and missile issues deferred
Under the drafts, discussion of key U.S. demands regarding Iran’s nuclear programme would be postponed during a 60-day period of talks on a final settlement. The only explicit reference to nuclear policy at this stage would be a restatement of Iran’s longstanding commitment not to seek nuclear weapons, first made when it ratified the U.N. Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970.
The drafts also included discussion of hundreds of billions of dollars in potential war reparations to Tehran and the dropping of longstanding demands for curbs on Iran’s missile programme.
Washington has previously demanded that Iran surrender its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium. However, none of the versions reviewed by Reuters mentioned the issue, and the sources said the demand had been explicitly excluded for now.
