US-Iran deal imminent: Just one more signature needed. Details behind the scenes of intense negotiations

US and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but President Trump has yet to give his final approval, two US officials and a regional source involved in the mediation efforts told Axios. Iran has not confirmed its acceptance either.

The news of the framework agreement comes after Iran attacked a US airbase in Kuwait on Thursday in response to US airstrikes over what Washington described as an Iranian drone operation, Reuters notes.

According to the US publication Axios, the two sides have agreed on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and start negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but the plan now only needs Trump's approval.

Oil prices reversed course, falling after the Axios article was published.

The latest attacks, though limited, highlighted the fragility of negotiations to turn a shaky ceasefire in early April into a lasting deal to end the three-month war that has killed thousands and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz sea route.

US Central Command (CETCOM) said US forces shot down five Iranian attack drones and hit a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas, which was about to launch a sixth drone. Kuwaiti forces then intercepted a ballistic missile fired at their country, which is home to a large US base.

“These actions were moderate, purely defensive and aimed at maintaining the truce,” a US official, who requested anonymity to speak openly about the military operations, previously told Reuters.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted the US base responsible for a dawn attack near Bandar Abbas airport and that any repetition would lead to a “decisive response”, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.

Kuwait condemned the attack and called on Iran to immediately end what it described as a serious escalation.

The new mutual attacks – the second outbreak this week – coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, celebrated across the region, where several countries have been embroiled in the conflict sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Pakistan, acting as a mediator, has announced that its foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will meet US foreign policy chief Marco Rubio in Washington on Friday, although the significance of his visit is unclear.

In Lebanon, which Iran says must be part of any global peace deal, Israel began hitting the infrastructure of Tehran-backed Shiite Hezbollah militants in the southern city of Tire and carried out an attack in the capital Beirut.

The details behind the scenes

The signing of the memorandum of understanding would represent the most important diplomatic achievement since the start of the war, but a final agreement that would meet Trump's demands on the nuclear issue would still require intense negotiations, notes Axios.

“This is an agreement intended to bring everyone to the negotiating table. We will determine the details during the negotiations,” said one of the US officials quoted by the publication.

US officials say the terms of the deal were largely agreed on Tuesday, but both sides still need approval from their countries' top leadership.

US officials said the Iranians later came back and said they had obtained the necessary approvals and were ready to sign. Tehran has not officially confirmed this.

American negotiators also briefed Trump on the details of the final deal, but he did not immediately approve it. “The president has told the mediators that he wants a few days to think about it,” a US official said.

Trump and his advisers repeatedly believed in the earlier stages of the conflict that they were close to a deal with Tehran, but talks have repeatedly stalled.

What will happen in the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear file

US officials cited by Axios also said the 60-day memorandum of understanding would stipulate that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be “unrestricted.”

A US official said this meant there would be no tolls or harassment and that Iran would have to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days.

The US naval blockade will also be lifted, but this will happen in proportion to the restoration of commercial shipping, a US official said.

The memorandum will include a commitment by Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon, the officials said. The memorandum will also state that the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day period will be how to dispose of Iran's highly enriched uranium and how to address Tehran's uranium enrichment.

The US will commit to discussing the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of the negotiations. The memorandum of understanding will also include discussion of a mechanism to help Iran begin receiving goods and humanitarian aid.

A US official said Iran now has a chance to free up its economy and that “there are people in their system who understand that this is an opportunity to go in a different direction”, adding: “We will find out during the 60-day negotiations if that is the case.”

US officials have also said there will be no side deals or secret clauses regarding the lifting of sanctions or funds going to Iran. “The more the Iranians are willing to give, the more they will get,” one of them said.

The two US officials said the Iranians had verbally committed during the negotiations to their willingness to make nuclear concessions, but “we won't know until we get into the negotiating room, which is why we want to conclude this memorandum of understanding. It brings both sides to the negotiating table to talk directly.”

The memorandum of understanding is also about promoting “regional peace,” and the Trump administration hopes to discuss Iran's support for its proxies in the region (Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis), the officials said.

All options, on Trump's table

They added that if during the negotiations it becomes clear that Iran is unable to meet its commitments on the nuclear issue, Trump will have all options on the table – economic and military. The withdrawal of US forces in the region is contingent on a final agreement, they said.

The US president said on Wednesday that he was in no rush to conclude the agreement.

In fact, Donald Trump threatened to “finish the job” if Tehran does not accept a compromise, and he also threatened the Sultanate of Oman, a US ally and one of the mediators in this conflict.

His remarks came after Iranian state television aired a draft deal under discussion suggesting Iran would retain control of the Strait of Hormuz in cooperation with Oman.

“These are international waters. We will watch over them, but no one will control them. Oman will behave like the others or we will have to spray them. They know that,” said the US president, in an apparent confusion, in which he confused Iran with Oman.