US, Iran aim to finalise ‘largely negotiated’ deal to end war, open Hormuz
US President Trump emphasised that the agreement was still ‘subject to finalisation’
The United States and Iran sought on Sunday to finalise an agreement to formally end the Middle East war after Donald Trump said a proposal that included opening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz was “largely negotiated”.
However, the US president emphasised that the deal was still “subject to finalisation”, while The New York Times reported that the two sides would only address thorny issues about Iran’s nuclear programme after an initial pact was reached.
“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries,” Trump said on social media on Saturday.
“In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” he said, a development that would bring relief to global energy markets after a months-long Iranian blockade of the crucial thoroughfare for oil shipments.
Leaders from Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as representatives from Turkey and Pakistan, joined a call with Trump to discuss the deal on Saturday, the US president said.
Pakistan, which mediated historic face-to-face negotiations between US and Iranian delegations in April, hoped to host another round of talks “very soon”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.