Iran official says near-agreement to end war

President Donald Trump said on May 23 that an agreement to end the war with Iran had been “largely negotiated,” but Iranian and U.S. accounts of the talks showed major details were still unsettled. Iranian officials said progress had been made toward an initial memorandum of understanding, while public reporting from Reuters and other outlets described a fragile process involving Pakistan and Gulf states. Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen under the deal, a point Iranian-linked reporting disputed. The claim circulating on X about a “near-agreement” appears to track a broader public push by multiple participants on May 23 to signal momentum in negotiations. But the social-media post cited in the prompt did not identify mediators or provide evidence for its allegation that Israel was trying to derail the talks. Publicly available reporting on Saturday instead pointed to formal mediation efforts and to unresolved disagreements over the strait and over whether nuclear issues would be part of the first-stage deal. (cnbc.com) ### Who was actually saying a deal was close? Donald Trump wrote on May 23 that “an Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization” between the United States, Iran and other countries, according to CNBC’s reproduction of his social-media post. He said details would be announced shortly and said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was part of the package. Iranian officials were more cautious. Al Jazeera’s live coverage, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Tehran was focused on ending the war “on all fronts including Lebanon” and was not discussing its nuclear programme at this stage. (english.alarabiya.net) Reuters reporting carried by Al Arabiya said Iran was focused on finalizing a memorandum of understanding after meetings in Tehran on Saturday. (cnbc.com) ### Which mediators were publicly identified? Pakistan was publicly named on May 23 as a mediator. Reuters reported that Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, met top Iranian officials in Tehran and that the Pakistani army described the negotiations as producing “encouraging” progress toward a final understanding. (aljazeera.com) Qatar was also identified in contemporaneous reporting. Sky News said Qatar had sent a negotiating team to Tehran, while Iranian state media reported Munir’s visit. Trump separately said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (english.alarabiya.net) ### What did the reported draft framework include? Reuters reported, through Al Arabiya, that the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, and opening a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, with an extension possible. One Pakistani source involved in the negotiations described the package as “fairly comprehensive to terminate the war.” (news.sky.com) CNBC reported that Iran’s foreign ministry described the memorandum of understanding as a first phase before broader talks within 30 to 60 days. That account matched Trump’s public description only in broad outline; it did not resolve the core dispute over who would control access through the strait. ### Where were the biggest gaps between the two sides? The Strait of Hormuz was one of the clearest sticking points on May 23. (english.alarabiya.net) CNBC reported that Trump said the deal would reopen the waterway, while Iran’s Fars news agency said the latest exchanged text kept the strait under Iranian management and called Trump’s account “incomplete and inconsistent with reality.” Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, also said there had been only “slight progress,” according to Sky News, and repeated that the strait should be open without tolls. (cnbc.com) Al Jazeera reported that Iran was refusing to discuss its nuclear programme in the current phase, another sign that the two sides were not yet aligned on the scope of any immediate agreement. ### What should readers watch next? Sunday, May 24, was the next public decision point cited in Reuters reporting. Reuters said Trump would review the latest Iran draft agreement with advisers and could decide on Sunday whether to resume attacks on Iran. Any next formal step was expected to center on an initial memorandum of understanding. (news.sky.com) Reuters reported that, if Washington and Tehran agreed, the MOU would lead to further talks after the Eid holiday ends on Friday, while CNBC said broader negotiations could follow within 30 to 60 days. (english.alarabiya.net)