HIBAPRESS
U.S. President Donald Trump is sticking to his red lines in any potential agreement with Iran, emphasizing the issues of transferring highly enriched uranium from within Iran and the nuclear file, as well as opening the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior U.S. administration official and a second informed source revealed today, Sunday, that Trump requested several amendments to the framework agreement reached by his envoys with their Iranian counterparts during a meeting in the Situation Room last Friday, according to the Axios website. They also explained that this request launched a new round of back-and-forth between the two sides that could last several days. Details about Uranium: According to the two sources, the U.S. President asked his team to introduce amendments to the draft clauses related to the Iranian nuclear program. The senior official said that the matter relates to "more details about how the United States will obtain highly enriched uranium materials and the timing of that." The second source explained that Trump is also seeking to amend some of the formulations related to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, the U.S. official said that Trump was informed that it might take about three days before the Iranians respond. He added, "They are literally in caves and do not use email." He confirmed that "there will be an agreement, but its timing is not specified… We are ready to wait until the President gets what he asks for. It may take a week, or less, or more. We hope that with the beginning of the week we will have something." Sources had previously reported that the draft agreement in its current form included a commitment from Iran not to seek to possess a nuclear weapon, but it did not specify specific concessions. It also stipulated a 60-day deadline to negotiate Tehran's nuclear commitments in exchange for easing U.S. sanctions, with the talks starting with how to get rid of the enriched uranium stockpile and limit enrichment. While Iran claimed that it would obtain billions of dollars from frozen funds abroad, according to official media reports days ago, the White House denied the matter. It is worth noting that the U.S. President announced last Friday that he would hold a meeting in the Situation Room regarding the agreement, and seemed inclined to accept it. However, an official at the White House returned and confirmed to journalists after the meeting that Trump "will only conclude a good agreement for America, that meets his red lines, and ensures that Tehran does not possess a nuclear weapon." Iranian officials also informed official media at the time that they had not yet approved the final text. This came after weeks of indirect negotiations between the two sides through mediators (Pakistan and Qatar), with the continued suffocating U.S. blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, after a day of the failure of direct Iranian-American talks held in Islamabad to reach an agreement. While Iranian forces have continued to paralyze navigation in the vital Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war, due to its threats to cargo ships.
