The latest memorandum, which President Donald Trump is believed to be nearing completion, would end hostilities with Iran while gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, officials said.
The agreement also includes the unfreezing of some Iranian assets currently held in banks outside Iran.
Continued negotiations to resolve remaining issues with Iran’s nuclear program will take at least 30 days. This includes what happens to Iran’s near-weapons-grade uranium stockpile.
Trump said the final details were still being sorted out and it was still possible that some parts of the memo could change.
The agreement, which the two sides are close to signing, includes a 60-day extension to the ceasefire, which “may be extended by mutual agreement,” according to a report by Axios’ Barak Rabid.
During this period, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and the US will “wait some sanctions to allow Iran to sell its oil freely,” the newspaper said, citing US officials.
Axios reported that there would also be negotiations on curbing Iran’s nuclear program, but noted that the deal had not yet been finalized and could still fall apart.
Iran’s state-run Fars news agency said President Trump’s claims about reopening the strait were “untrue” and “contradicted by reality.”
“Iran has agreed to return the number of ships passing through the country to pre-war levels, but this in no way means ‘free passage’ as existed before the war,” the newspaper reported.
