New York [US], June 13: The United States and Iran signalled on Friday that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior U.S. administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said changes were still possible, but the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
"Iran is the winner of the war with the U.S.," he said on state television.
The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on all sides of the talks said.
Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program - U.S. President Donald Trump's stated rationale for starting the war - would take place afterward.
The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the deal met Trump's core objectives and put negotiations "in a very, very good place."
Accounts of the draft proposal from Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources pointed to terms that could favour Iran, drawing criticism from Trump, who dismissed the reports as inaccurate.
While there were minor differences in the details, the proposals broadly offered Tehran much of what it has sought, with Trump appearing to secure little beyond the reopening of the strait, which Iran closed after the U.S. and Israel strikes in February.
Araqchi said Iran would, along with Oman, retain control of traffic through the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply.
"Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday that explosions were heard along the strait in Iran's Sirik port and Qeshm island, which residents and local officials attributed to shots fired by Iranian forces to warn vessels attempting to cross the waterway without permission from the Revolutionary Guards' navy.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation
