US-Iran Near Agreement: Military Threats Reiterated as Negotiation Gaps Persist
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday local time that the United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement to end hostilities, but the deal has not yet been approved by President Trump, and the White House still hopes the final plan will meet several core conditions.
Bessent said at the White House, 'We already have the basis for a deal.' He also disclosed that the two sides have been exchanging proposals. 'Everything depends on the President's decision, and President Trump will never accept a deal that harms US interests.'
Bessent said Iran must agree to dispose of highly enriched uranium, promise never to develop nuclear weapons, and fully reopen navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. US officials had previously said these points would be included in the memorandum of understanding.
Earlier, US officials said the two countries were close to a 60-day agreement that would require both sides to gradually lift the blockade in the Strait during the first 30 days.
If the deal is finalized, it would be the first step in a phased framework agreement. The US hopes to use the framework to push Iran to sharply scale back its nuclear program over the next several decades, including removing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Even if the US and Iran continue talks for at least two more months, the deal would almost certainly force the Trump administration to partially adjust its military objectives.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported Thursday that the final text of the deal has not yet been completed. Iran said that if an agreement is reached, Pakistan, the main third party in the mediation, will make the public announcement.
Iran has put forward multiple demands: unfreezing assets seized overseas because of US sanctions, retaining its own management rights over the Strait of Hormuz, including whether to charge passing vessels a transit fee, and ensuring that the cease-fire also leads to a long-term truce in Lebanon.
Iranian officials worry that, under Israeli influence, Trump may tear up the deal.
At Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Trump said he would not sign any agreement with Iran unless Saudi Arabia and other Arab states join the Abraham Accords, the series of accords that normalize relations with Israel. Although the US midterm elections are approaching in November, Trump also said he was in no rush to finalize a deal.
Trump has repeatedly threatened that if Iran refuses to sign a treaty, the US will fully resume military strikes, only to walk back those remarks several times later. Bessent reiterated that threat again on Thursday.
US officials said Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had previously approved the general content of the framework deal, while the final plan still requires his formal approval. Iranian officials have also recently said a deal is close, while admitting that differences remain.
The two countries had earlier fought for 39 days. Iran's military and senior leadership suffered heavy losses, while Iran attacked energy facilities in several Gulf states and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil shipments pass.
Since early April, the US and Iran have reached a fragile cease-fire in an effort to fully end the conflict, but international energy prices have kept rising, and the economies of Iran, the US and the world have all borne clear shocks.
The US and Iran have exchanged fire twice this week. On Thursday, Iran fired a ballistic missile at Kuwait, and it was successfully intercepted.
The framework agreement outlines the following arrangements: within 30 days, the US and Iran must lift mutual maritime blockades and promise to stop hostilities; it also spells out the phased benefits Iran would receive, starting with gains from the lifting of the Strait blockade, and more if a full nuclear deal follows. The framework is valid for 60 days and can be extended.
US officials said that over the next two months, the US will move ahead under the deal to gradually unfreeze Iranian funds and consider easing some sanctions. A senior Trump administration official said all such steps would be contingent on verified compliance by Iran with the deal terms.
Bessent said the US will continue to enforce a broad economic pressure campaign against Iran and announced sanctions on the agency responsible for managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. He then warned that if Oman helps collect transit fees from passing ships, the US will also take action against it.
If a comprehensive nuclear deal is eventually reached, sanctions relief for Iran could be broader than under the 2015 nuclear deal signed by former President Obama. That deal lifted most secondary sanctions but did not repeal the core law, and US banks, companies and individuals were still barred from dealing with Iran.
Some former US officials and experts are not optimistic about a detailed final nuclear deal, arguing that Iran may not sharply scale back its nuclear program as the White House demands. This could leave Iran facing extensive sanctions from the US and the international community, while the US and its allies would continue to doubt the scale and pace of Iran's nuclear development.
At present, international inspectors are no longer able to enter most of Iran's key nuclear facilities to carry out work.
US officials said the reason the deal has still not cleared final approval is Iran's complex decision-making structure. In the past, the Supreme Leader has been deeply involved in consultations and decisions on core matters such as national security and diplomacy with the US. But Khamenei is reportedly currently in hiding and cut off from most of Iran's top officials, making his position hard to convey and adding uncertainty to the talks.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the White House of constantly changing its negotiating terms and of taking military action during the talks.
The talks on this deal are being advanced by the US and Iran with mediation from Pakistan, while the US is also keeping in touch with regional allies such as Israel and several Gulf states.
