US Vice President JD Vance commented on Thursday on the state of the negotiations with Iran, telling reporters that progress has been made but no deal has yet been reached.
“It’s hard to say when or if the President is going to sign the MOU. We're going back and forth on a couple of language points. I do think we’ve made a lot of progress here. It’s very clear, I think, the Iranians want a deal and they want to open the Strait of Hormuz. We want them to open the Strait of Hormuz," Vance said.
“There are a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff and the highly enriched stockpile, the question of enrichment," he continued. “So we’re going back and forth with them. We do think they're negotiating, at least so far, in good faith and we're making some progress."
Vance further said, “Hopefully, we'll continue to make progress and the President will be in a position where he can endorse the agreement, but obviously, that's still TBD."
The Vice President’s comments came after White House officials confirmed that US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would extend the ceasefire and begin negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
Two US officials and a regional source involved in the mediation efforts told Axios that President Donald Trump has not yet granted final approval for the agreement.
According to the Axios report, the proposed memorandum would mark a major diplomatic development since the outbreak of the war, though additional negotiations would still be required to address the administration’s demands regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.
Under the terms of the proposed memorandum, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would remain unrestricted. A US official said the arrangement would prohibit tolls or harassment and would require Iran to remove all mines from the waterway within 30 days.
The report added that the US naval blockade would be lifted gradually, in line with the restoration of commercial shipping.
US officials also said the memorandum would include an Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons. During the 60-day period, negotiations would initially focus on the disposition of Iran’s highly enriched uranium and the issue of Iranian enrichment.
According to the report, the United States would also agree to discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds as part of the negotiations. The memorandum would additionally include discussions on mechanisms aimed at enabling Iran to receive goods and humanitarian assistance.
Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that he remains dissatisfied with the current state of peace talks aimed at concluding the war with Iran.
“They want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven’t gotten there," Trump said, adding, “We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be. We will be either that, or we’ll have to just finish the job."
Despite expressing general dissatisfaction, Trump subsequently noted that the discussions were technically doing very well, adding that he believes “the Iranian regime is starting to give us the things that they have to give us."