Munir Ahmed, Collin Binkley and Russ Bynum
Islamabad: The United States and Iran are close to signing an agreement aimed at ending their war, three regional officials told The Associated Press on Friday. A senior US official said the tentative deal includes terms for removing and destroying nuclear material from Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on Friday on X that an agreement “has never been closer.” He gave no details, saying a final deal was still pending. US President Donald Trump shared Araghchi’s post on his own social media.
The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the US and Israel over three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war.
Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the countries were on the cusp of a deal. The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has rattled the Middle East and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 7.
The regional officials said the emerging deal is expected to pave the way for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran, and the release of frozen Iranian assets. These officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, declined to discuss further details.
A senior US official said key terms in the emerging agreement include the removal and destruction of Iran’s nuclear material and the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear program. The terms also include Iran agreeing not to fund terrorist groups, the official said.
The US official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to provide details about the sensitive talks.
Underscoring the fragility of the talks, Trump on Friday lashed out at Iranian officials on social media and said: “They better get their act together, and FAST!”
Iran’s nuclear program has been a key point of division. The US and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.
Also critical is Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and natural gas. Disruption of transit through the strait has crimped global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.
The US has responded since mid-April with a naval blockade of Iranian ports to choke off Iran’s own oil exports.
The regional officials said they expect a signing ceremony for the agreement in the coming days after officials in Washington and Tehran approve it.
“This deal has the potential to remake the region and lead to lasting peace,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Friday in a social media post, without releasing details.
Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in talks to extend the ceasefire, just hours after he threatened to escalate attacks and seize Iran’s oil industry. Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on state television that mediators were active and the text of a deal was “mostly finalised.”
There was no immediate comment Friday from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, which has been leading efforts to mediate a deal between the US and Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had said Thursday that Pakistan remained involved in negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel was not a party to the deal being negotiated. He said in a statement Friday that he and Trump were in “full agreement” that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that Israel also expects Trump to uphold key Israeli interests, including weakening Iran’s missile program and proxy network.
Katz warned that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting in Lebanon between its ally militia Hezbollah and Israel. Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing his goal of destroying the militant group, complicating negotiations between Iran and the U.S.
The deal was largely being brokered by Pakistan, led by its army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, the regional officials said, with backing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar.
AP
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
