By Tim Lister, Frederik Pleitgen and Aida Kamiri, CNN
(CNN) — Iran and the United States have signaled they are closing in on an agreement to turn the existing ceasefire that ended weeks of conflict into a more long-lasting settlement.
Both sides are talking of a “memorandum of understanding” that will set out a roadmap for a resolving all outstanding issues, although a deal is not expected to be reached today.
But what is in that memorandum remains unclear.
The central premise of this approach is that the memo, once signed, would stop the fighting, which would be welcome news to both sides, with US President Donald Trump facing midterms later this year and Iran’s economy in crisis.
Recent versions of the memorandum of understanding that Trump appears close to finalizing would also see the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to a person familiar with the matter. A countdown would then begin to iron out other sticking points such as Iran’s nuclear program.
However, Iranian state media have cast doubt on whether the memo will even be agreed upon. Differences “over one or two clauses of the possible memorandum of understanding still persist,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Sunday.
And after saying that the deal was “largely negotiated” Trump said that the US would not rush into an agreement.
Here’s what we know about some of the key issues at stake.
The Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post late Saturday that the critical waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, would reopen under the memorandum.
But multiple Iranian media outlets, some of them close to the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported Sunday that the strait would remain under Iranian supervision. Over a period of 30 days, Iran would allow shipping to return to pre-war levels.
Iran is demanding that the US blockade on its ports be lifted at the same time, but in a social media post Sunday Trump said: “The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” apparently referencing a final accord rather than the memorandum.
Iranian media have emphasized that reopening the waterway to shipping does not mean Tehran is relinquishing its wartime claims over the strategic chokepoint. In effect, Iran appears to be signaling that while it may allow commercial traffic to return to pre-war volumes, it still intends to maintain a greater degree of control over passage through the strait than existed before the conflict.
“The strait is already open, but coordination with Iranian relevant authorities must happen to ensure safe transit,” said an Iranian source who spoke to CNN on Sunday.
“The Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with America. This is an issue between us and the coastal countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismaeil Baghaei said Saturday, especially with Oman.
During the conflict, Iran has said it has a right to impose fees on commercial shipping transiting the strait.
Iran’s uranium stocks and enrichment
A potential agreement between the US and Iran includes a commitment by Iran to not pursue a nuclear weapon, CNN reported Sunday. Iran would also commit to enter negotiations on giving up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and pause any new enrichment, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Iranian officials have insisted that negotiations about the uranium can only begin once a memorandum ending the war is agreed. Uranium is a key nuclear fuel that can be used to build a nuclear bomb if enriched to high levels.