Senior US Official — Iran Agreed “In Principle”; Hormuz First, Uranium Later
A senior Trump administration official told reporters on Sunday an agreement with Iran would not be signed yesterday because the Iranian system “did not move fast enough”. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Iran had agreed “in principle” to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, and to dispose of Tehran’s highly enriched uranium. There was no immediate Iranian confirmation or elaboration on what “in principle” meant. Washington envisions first re-opening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade; negotiating the details of the nuclear measures would take more time.
A second senior administration official said yesterday the proposed framework would give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal. The sequencing the official described aligns with the framework that Reuters sources had outlined: end-of-war declaration first, then Hormuz, then a 30-to-60-day window for the broader settlement. Iran would commit never to pursue a nuclear weapon and to enter negotiations on giving up its highly enriched uranium stockpile while pausing new enrichment, according to a person familiar with the matter. The US official described the approach as “relief for performance”: allowing Iran to trade oil would also free up the global oil market by unblocking the strait.