On May 6 (local time), the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Tehran would respond to the proposal from Washington.
US President Donald Trump also declared that he believes Iran wants to reach an agreement. Speaking in the Oval Office on May 6 (US time), Mr. Trump said that the two sides had positive exchanges within 24 hours and the possibility of reaching an agreement was "very high". However, before that, Mr. Trump had expressed more pessimistic when warning that a bombing campaign against Iran could resume.
The conflict that began on February 28 has not shown signs of completely ending. The two sides continue to disagree on Iran's nuclear program as well as control of the Hormuz Strait, a shipping route that once transported about 1/5 of global oil and gas supplies before the conflict broke out.
A Pakistani source and a mediating source said that the parties are approaching a one-page memorandum to officially end the war. Accordingly, the next negotiations will focus on restoring transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting US sanctions and imposing some restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.
However, the proposed content does not mention many important requirements that Washington has previously made, including limiting Iran's missile program, ending support for authorized forces in the Middle East and handling Tehran's high-grade enriched uranium stockpile.
Mr. Ebrahim Rezaei, Spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said that this document is "more like a list of US wishes than reality". Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also doubted the possibility of a breakthrough, saying that the optimistic information is just a US effort after the failure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
While negotiations are ongoing, the US military still maintains a blockade of Iranian ships in the area. The US Central Command said their forces fired at an Iranian-flagged oil tanker when it tried to move to an Iranian port, violating the blockade order.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he and Mr. Trump agreed that all enriched uranium must be removed from Iran to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Iran continues to affirm that its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes.
