The reopening of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear stockpile are the key sticking points in the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran.
Iran and the US are reportedly close to an agreement to formalise a ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz, pending US President Donald Trump’s approval.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that any deal would need to meet US President Donald Trump’s demands that Iran give up its highly enriched uranium and, in addition, allow free navigation through the strait.
“It is a multifaceted agreement and nothing is going to be on the table until we see the Strait of Hormuz open and the Iranians agree that they have to turn over the highly enriched uranium, and that they can’t have a nuclear programme,” Bessent was quoted by ANI as saying on Thursday.
Temporary agreement reached
Multiple reports quoted US officials as saying on Thursday that the US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement on Thursday to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The proposed MoU is designed to serve as a bridge to bring both nations to the negotiating table to address the ongoing crisis in West Asia. While officials on both sides noted that most terms were settled by Tuesday, the final hurdle remains the blessing of top leadership.
Later, US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday the US and Iran are “not there yet” on an initial deal expected to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, extend the ceasefire and deepen negotiations on contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.
He, however, said that Washington and Tehran are “very close” to agreeing on a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, but the potential breakthrough still hangs on President Donald Trump’s approval.
“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the President is going to sign the MOU,” Vance told reporters, adding, “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points. We’ve made a lot of progress here.”
Here, we explain why Iran and the US are in a deadlock over these issues:
Strait of Hormuz
Freeing of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is currently the most urgent issue. Hormuz is a critical waterway off Iran’s coast whose closure has sparked a global oil crisis, with millions of barrels of oil supply shut off daily.
Iran has long controlled the key economic route. As the war began, the US moved to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports — restricting the flow of trade to and from Iran.
As part of the peace deal, Iran wants to retain control over the key route, while the US wants to leverage the blockade and put economic pressure on Iran in the negotiations.
US President Donald Trump had earlier told Fox News that “we’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don’t like”. He had said the goal was letting “all or nothing” pass through the channel.
Under the tentative agreement, yet to be signed by Trump, Iran will not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and will have to remove all mines from the vital waterway within 30 days, according to sources cited by the Associated Press.
The memorandum also says that the US would gradually lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and would also agree to relax sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.
Iran did not immediately confirm any deal.
Nuclear weapons, and giving up enriched Uranium
President Donald Trump is resolute in his demand against Iran’s nuclear programme. He had made clear that the US does not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and has, therefore, asked Tehran to completely surrender the enriched uranium.
Trump has insisted that Iran must hand over what he calls its “nuclear dust.” Iranian officials have, however, said that the country has a right to a non-weapons nuclear programme.
Sources told CNN that the tentative deal would begin 60 more days of negotiation on Tehran’s nuclear programme, including the fate of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. They reportedly said the most difficult issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme still have to be worked out as part of those talks.
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
US Vice President JD Vance suggested on Thursday that negotiators were trying to strike general terms on the highly enriched uranium settled in the tentative agreement, with the specifics to be hammered out in the ensuing talks.
Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up that stockpile, according to reports. One official told the Associated Press that how Iran would give it up would be subject to further talks over the 60-day period.
Some would likely be diluted and the rest transferred to a third country, the official said.
Nuclear analysts told the Associated Press that Iran might consider China or Russia, which have close relations with Tehran, to be a potential acceptable third party to take possession of the enriched uranium. But Trump said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with such a plan.
Iran has not publicly committed to giving up the stockpile, which is believed to be buried under a trio of nuclear sites that were badly damaged by US airstrikes last year.
Tehran says its nuclear programme would not do any harm, and that they are not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian spokesperson, said “the focus of the negotiations is on ending the war, and at this stage we are not discussing the details of the nuclear issue.”
The Islamic Republic has maintained that it has an “inalienable” right to nuclear technology while insisting its programme is peaceful. On Sunday, President Masoud Pezeshkian told state TV they were ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon”.
