A ceasefire to the Iran War entered its 50th day on Wednesday as President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with his cabinet to discuss an emerging deal to end the conflict.
Iran’s Tasnin News Agency reported Sunday that the first phase of the memorandum of understanding being considered to end the war would include the U.S. lifting its blockade of Hormuz and waiving sanctions on Iranian oil during the negotiation period, allowing Tehran to sell oil without restrictions. The deal also reportedly includes “an understanding in which the end of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, is emphasized.” In exchange, Iran would allow vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz at “pre-war levels,” but according to Tasnim, Iran would retain control over the waterway, saying that “despite some Western media reports,” the “Strait of Hormuz situation will not return to pre-war conditions.”
On Monday, Trump signaled more flexibility over Iran’s nuclear energy program, posting on Truth Social that his preference is for its enriched uranium to be “destroyed in place” inside Iran or “at another acceptable location” in coordination with the Iranian government and “with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event.” Previously Trump had demanded that Iran deliver the uranium to the United States.
Drop Site News, citing a senior Iranian official, reported Friday that, although Iran will only engage in nuclear talks at a later phase of any deal, Iran would be willing to suspend enrichment above 3.6 percent for 10 years and dilute existing higher-enriched uranium inside the country under international supervision.
Iran’s deputy secretary of the National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, said Wednesday that Iran’s enriched uranium “is not on the agenda of the negotiations.”
Iranian officials say the U.S. has accepted Iran’s red lines, but that the U.S. team is asking for more time before announcing any agreement to “manage domestic public opinion.”
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 31 people on Tuesday as the IDF issued forced displacement orders for 50 separate villages in southern Lebanon. Journalists in Lebanon have recently documented Israel’s use of white phosphorus bombs. The IDF said multiple Hezbollah drones had impacted in northern Israel, with no injuries reported.
Oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday, with Brent Crude oil trading at $96.47 as the U.S. and Iran appeared to move close to a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices remained elevated but also below recent peaks, with AAA reporting the national average price of regular gas at $4.46.
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