Uncertainty shadows conflict

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran's leaked comments on a deal with the United States do not represent what has been agreed to in writing as Tehran said Iran had not reached a final decision on it.

Versions and accounts of a proposed memorandum to end the conflict in the Gulf were provided to Reuters by Western sources, sources from mediator Pakistan and senior Iranian sources on Friday. They were also published in the Iranian media.

The official news agency IRNA said that nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will be held within a 60-day period after the two countries' potential signing of the MoU.

Under the present circumstances, no new agreement will be reached on Iran's nuclear program, and Tehran will give no new commitment on the issue, the report said while elaborating on the general outlines of the potential MoU.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Friday that the draft would waive sanctions on Iran's oil, unfreeze billions of dollars of its funds, and require a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

"What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. Amazing!" he wrote on Truth Social.

"They better get their act together, and fast!" Trump said.

Trump said on Thursday he was calling off new strikes on Iran because a deal could be reached in days.

However, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran "had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement".

He added that "most of the text of the agreement was finalized, but the problem began when the US side made new demands and changed its positions".

The fighting — which began Feb 28 with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei — paused under an April truce. But efforts to hammer out a permanent end to the fighting appeared stalled.

Tehran's mayor said on Thursday the former supreme leader's funeral would be delayed to the end of June or the start of July.

Egypt said the US and Iran should seize an "available opportunity" for a deal to end the fighting, after Trump canceled the threatened strikes.

Just a day earlier, Trump had declared that not only would US forces step up airstrikes, they would also seize control of Iran's oil export facility on Kharg Island in the Gulf.

With US threats escalating, Iranian General Ali Abdollahi warned earlier in the day that if the United States attacked, "it will receive a harsher response than before, and the flames of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and far-reaching".

Civilians facing renewed strikes in Tehran were pessimistic. Majid, a 35-year-old pharmacist, said the economic knock-on effects of the fighting were crippling normal life.

Wide gap

"I am absolutely not optimistic about the agreement being finalized, because the gap between the two countries is too wide," he said.

Iran has renewed its warnings over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport that it has essentially closed since early in the conflict, roiling global energy markets.

The future administration of the strait will be resolved as a regional matter through dialogue and joint decision-making between Iran and Oman, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported on Friday.

Analysts say the negotiations for peace remain complicated, marked by deep distrust, with both sides skeptical of each other's intentions. As a result, both Washington and Tehran are likely to continue balancing pressure and deterrence while seeking to avoid a complete breakdown.

"The deeper issue is that both countries have conflicting visions for the future of the Middle East. The United States seeks to preserve a regional order built around its alliances, while Iran seeks recognition as a major regional power with legitimate security interests," Abdel Majid Suwailem, a Palestinian political analyst, told Xinhua News Agency.

"Until this contradiction is addressed, technical agreements alone will have limited impact," Suwailem said.

AGENCIES-XINHUA