Iran says 'conclusion' reached with US on many issues but agreement not imminent

TEHRAN - Iran and the United States have "reached a conclusion on a major part of the issues under discussion," but the signing of an agreement is not imminent, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

He made the remarks at a weekly press conference while commenting on the latest progress related to Pakistan-mediated talks between Iran and the United States aimed at ending the war.

Baghaei said developments over the past few days were the result of several weeks of talks mediated by Pakistan, adding that some other countries also offered good offices during the process.

"Therefore, it is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a major part of the issues under discussion. But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent, no one can make such a claim," he noted.

Baghaei said this is due to several reasons, "including the fact that policy- and decision-making in the United States have become subject to a kind of institutionalized hesitation and the US frequent changing of its positions and views, which disrupts any dialogue."

Baghaei noted that negotiations at this stage have focused on ending the war on all fronts. "We have no talks on the details of the nuclear issue," he said.

He said that future visits by the Iranian delegation to Islamabad and by the Pakistani delegation to Tehran would be possible if necessary, but no such trips have been planned for now.

On a recent EU decision to impose sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities involved in Iran's actions and policies regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei warned that any hostile action would definitely trigger Tehran's response. He emphasized that the strait was open before Feb 28, when the war started with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Discussions between Iran and the United States have not entered into details regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding that the strait's management method is an issue pertaining to coastal states.

He noted that Iran is in contact with relevant parties to ensure that a mechanism will be created capable of guaranteeing safety and security in the Strait of Hormuz as well as the international community's interests in the best possible way.

On Saturday, Baghaei told the state-run IRIB TV that Iran and the United States were working to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the war.

"At this stage, our focus is on ending the imposed war," Baghaei stressed. "Our intention has been to firstly agree on an MoU consisting of 14 clauses."

He noted that "within a period of 30 to 60 days," Tehran and Washington would reach a final agreement. "Among the major topics to be addressed in the MoU are the cessation of US maritime attacks, or naval blockade as they themselves call it, and other issues pertaining to the release of Iranian frozen assets."

Iran and the United States reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting. Following the truce, they held one round of peace talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.

Over the past weeks, the two sides reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for peace through Pakistan's mediation.