On Friday, President Trump informed reporters that he anticipates a communication from Iran “tonight,” regarding a proposal aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region.
“I’m supposed to receive a letter this evening. We’ll see how that unfolds,” Trump remarked as he prepared to leave the White House for a dinner engagement at his golf course in Northern Virginia.
When questioned about the possibility of Iran delaying the process, Trump replied, “I don’t know. We will find out soon enough.”
The memorandum of understanding that Trump is expecting—a concise one-page document—is intended to lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive treaty to be negotiated in the future.
According to sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations, the United States has proposed easing sanctions in return for Iran’s cessation of uranium enrichment and the reopening of commercial shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We should have an update today,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at the US Embassy in Rome. “We are waiting for their response. We’ll see what they have to say.”
“The hope is it’s something that – it can put us into a serious process of negotiation.”
Rubio noted that the Iranian government is “still highly fractured and a bit dysfunctional” which “may be serving as an impediment.”
He also warned that efforts by Tehran to control ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz would be “unacceptable.”
“The normalizing of their controlling of an international waterway is both illegal and it’s just something that’s unacceptable,” Rubio said. “And the world has to start asking itself what is it willing to do if Iran tries to normalize a control of an international waterway. I think that’s unacceptable.”
Other major sticking points include where Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium would go – Trump insists the radioactive material must be turned over to the United States rather than to a third country – and whether or when Tehran would be allowed to resume any enrichment activity in the future.
In-person talks could resume as early as next week in Pakistan if a framework is agreed to, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Trump did not answer reporters’ questions about whether he had heard back from Iran upon returning to the White House late Friday night.
