Iran pushed back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that an interim peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be imminent, as an Israeli strike on Lebanon posed a potential new risk to any agreement.
Iran Rejects Trump's Timeline
The Islamic Republic said nothing had been finalized regarding the deal with the U.S. and that an agreement would not be reached by Trump’s suggested deadline, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified official close to the negotiating team. As of Friday, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei hadn’t agreed to the text, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg.
Israeli Strike on Lebanon Adds Tensions
Adding to tensions, Israel’s military hit the Lebanese capital on Sunday, saying it was targeting Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed group fired more projectiles into northern Israel. Three people were killed and 15 injured in the southern suburbs of Beirut, state-run National News Agency reported.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said there was “no point” in continuing talks if the U.S. lacks the “will and ability” to fulfill its commitments and stop Israel from bombing Lebanon. The Islamic Republic warned that Israeli attacks on Beirut wouldn’t go “unanswered,” according to state media.
Israel’s foreign ministry responded to Ghalibaf, saying Hezbollah had attacked “completely unprovoked” and firing at its territory wouldn’t be tolerated.
Demands for Ceasefire in Lebanon
Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel less than a week ago in retaliation for the Jewish state striking Beirut. Iran insists any interim deal with the U.S. includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, a demand Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he won’t accept until Hezbollah is disarmed and no longer firing on Israel.
Details of the Proposed Deal
An agreement is meant to see Tehran reopen the strait to commercial vessels and Washington lift a blockade of Iranian ports. The two would extend their ceasefire by around two months and go into further negotiations about curbing Iran’s nuclear program.
“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday, “and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.”
Iranian officials have emphasized there’s been progress and say they are closer to a pact than at any point since the ceasefire started on April 8. Yet they’ve been more cautious than Trump, stating that not all the clauses of what’s likely to be a 14-point document are finalized.
Sticking Points in Negotiations
A Qatari delegation of mediators arrived in Tehran on Sunday to continue exchanging messages between Iran and the U.S. regarding the MOU, according to the Iranian ISNA news agency.
While Tehran is likely to reiterate it won’t build nuclear weapons, key sticking points include its demand the U.S. unfreeze tens of billions of dollars of Iranian funds held in countries such as Qatar, and Washington’s push for the Islamic Republic to agree to destroying or diluting its stockpiles of high-enriched uranium.
