Negotiators from the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on a framework deal on the Iran war, US sources told dpa on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump still has to give his approval, news outlet Axios reported, citing two US officials. US sources confirmed the substance of the report to dpa.
According to the report, should Trump agree, the framework agreement would extend the ceasefire and initiate negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. A period of 60 days is reportedly set aside for this.
Axios said the terms of the agreement had largely been finalized by Tuesday, but both sides still need to secure the approval of their political leadership.
However, Tasnim, a news agency close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), later reported that no preliminary agreement had been finalized or confirmed, citing a source close to the negotiating team.
According to the source, Tehran had not told the Pakistani mediator that the text was complete. The mediator and the public would be informed once the text was ready, the source said.
Reports in Western media that the agreement had already been concluded and was only awaiting announcement by both sides were false, the source added.
Iran to remove mines in strait 'within 30 days'
Under the reported framework, the agreement would also include unrestricted shipping without fees through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios said.
The US naval blockade of Iranian ports would be lifted, while Iran would remove mines in the strait within 30 days, the report said.
After the war began on February 28, shipping through the strait off Iran - which is important for the oil trade - largely came to a halt. Oil and gas prices on global energy markets surged, and the US blocked Iranian ports to try to force their hand.
The Axios report said the agreement - if given the green light by political leadership - would also include the US granting some exemptions to sanctions against Iran, so the country can sell oil.
A letter of intent stating that Iran commits not to seek nuclear weapons is also set to be part of the deal. The US would also be prepared to discuss easing sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
The negotiations would also cover the disposal of Iran's highly enriched uranium, the report added.
A ceasefire has been in place in the war since April 8. Despite this, there have already been several mutual attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
The Axios report said the framework deal would also stipulate that the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon should end.
Iranian Foreign Ministry slams Trump's Oman comments
Despite apparently being near to a deal, Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday sharply condemned overnight US strikes in the south of the country, accusing Washington of undermining the ceasefire.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a ministry statement that Iran was determined to respond to the attacks under its right to self-defence.
Baghaei also criticized comments by Trump, who had threatened to destroy US ally Oman if the Gulf state doesn't "behave."
"Oman will behave just like everybody else. Or else we’ll have to blow them up. They understand that," Trump said on Wednesday, reacting to media reports of talks between Iran and Oman on jointly regulating the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei said Oman had consistently played a "constructive, effective and responsible role for peace and security in the region." Threats of violence were a "dangerous sign of the normalization of lawlessness and power politics," he added.
