Baghaei — “Large Portion” of Issues Resolved, Signing Still Not Imminent
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that conclusions have been reached on a large portion of issues, but “to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim”. Baghaei said the memorandum of understanding does not include specifics about the management of the Strait of Hormuz and that any fees Iran charges “will not be presented as tolls”. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency said the United States is “still obstructing” parts of the potential deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds.
The Baghaei “not presented as tolls” phrasing is the operational reframing of the Iran-Oman fee discussion: Iran is reframing fees as “services” or “management charges” rather than tolls, while maintaining the underlying right to collect them. The framing is illegal under international maritime law in either form. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose office released a statement over the weekend, said: “We remain ready for talks, but the experience of past negotiations with the US forces us to exercise the utmost caution.” The Doha talks are now the operational forum for the “few days” window Rubio described, after which either a memorandum is signed or the framework collapses back into the “deal or force” binary.