US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is currently on an official visit to India, on Sunday said that more news on Iran could come later in the day and that there was a possibility of “good news” on the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz over the next few hours.
“Some progress has been made in the past 48 hours on an outline that could resolve the Strait of Hormuz situation,” he said while addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi.
The remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran were close to finalising a deal aimed at ending the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, the leader had said that the emerging agreement would reopen the strait, the vital shipping passage whose closure has sparked a global energy crisis since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in February.
He did not say what else would be included in the agreement. “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
IRAN TO SURRENDER ENRICHED URANIUM?
According to a report by The New York Times, Iran has agreed to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of the broader peace agreement being negotiated with the US.
Two unnamed US officials, cited by the newspaper, said that Tehran has agreed, in principle, to relinquish its stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium.
The NYT report, published shortly after Trump’s announcement, suggests that plans for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which the US has repeatedly insisted that Tehran give up, will be negotiated over the next 30 to 60 days.
However, a senior Iranian figure later appeared to refute the central claim made in the report. Speaking to news agency Reuters on the condition of anonymity, the source said that Tehran has not agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile.
They asserted that Iran’s nuclear issue was not part of the preliminary agreement with the US.
“The nuclear issue will be addressed in negotiations for a final agreement and are therefore not part of the current deal. There has been no agreement over Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile to be shipped out of the country,” the Iranian source was quoted as saying by Reuters.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran currently possesses nearly 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity, a level close to weapons-grade.
– Ends
(With inputs from agencies)
