US President Donald Trump said in an interview with NewsNation on April 17 that Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely.
In response to a question about whether Iran agreed to stop uranium enrichment, Trump replied: “Yes.” When he was asked to clarify, he said again: “Yes,” and then added: “Are you surprised? Nothing surprises me.”
Trump said that Iran will not receive any frozen funds from the United States. He writes Bloomberg. Axios had previously reported that Washington had offered Tehran to unlock $20 billion worth of frozen Iranian assets in exchange for enriched Iranian uranium.
Trump said the cessation of hostilities agreement is largely complete, and talks on a longer-term agreement are likely to take place this weekend, on April 18-19.
At the same time, a high-ranking Iranian official male Reuters reported that there are still major differences between Iran and the United States that prevent reaching an agreement to end the war. He pointed out that “no agreement has been reached on the details of the nuclear issues,” and that there is a need for serious negotiations to overcome the differences.
A Reuters source added that Iran hopes to reach a preliminary agreement with the United States in the coming days and extend the ceasefire “to pave the way for further negotiations on lifting sanctions on Iran and ensuring compensation for the damage resulting from the war.”
“In return, Iran will provide the international community with guarantees regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear program,” the agency’s unnamed interlocutor said, adding that any other versions of the negotiations’ progress are “a distortion of the situation.”
On April 17, Iran temporarily lifted its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supplies normally pass. This happened after Israel concluded a truce with the Lebanese Hezbollah group. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the strait will be open while the truce is in effect. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the possibility of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz depends on whether the United States adheres to the terms of the temporary truce.