US President Donald Trump affirmed that his administration has chosen to take its time and not rush into concluding any agreement with Iran, indicating that he directed his representatives to continue negotiating cautiously, in light of the ongoing war for nearly three months, and the decline in hopes of achieving a rapid breakthrough, despite positive signs that appeared a few days ago from both sides.
Trump clarified, via the "Truth Social" platform, that the American naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports and ships in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place and at full strength until a formal and signed agreement is reached, stressing that any settlement must be completed "correctly" to ensure the interests of all parties, without haste or ill-considered concessions. A day earlier, the US President had announced that Washington and Tehran had completed an important part of the negotiation regarding a memorandum of understanding for a possible peace agreement, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas exports passed before the outbreak of the war, but outstanding issues still impede the reaching of a final formula. A senior official in the Trump administration revealed that Iran initially agreed to open the strait in exchange for lifting the naval blockade and getting rid of its stock of highly enriched uranium, indicating that the current understanding focuses on urgent initial steps, while the details of the nuclear file will need more time to negotiate, denying the existence of an absolute Iranian rejection regarding the uranium issue, and stressing that the disagreement centers around the mechanisms of implementation. Within the United States, the outlines of the potential agreement sparked wide political criticism, as opponents saw that the new proposal was not far from the 2015 agreement, while Trump responded, stressing that any agreement he concludes will be "strong and appropriate." On the field, the Iranian authorities announced the passage of a limited number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, in an indication of a partial breakthrough that is still far from normal rates, amid global anticipation of the repercussions of the crisis on energy markets.
