Iran, US edge closer to 14-point peace framework, gaps remain

Iran announced on Saturday that it is finalising a 14-point framework for a potential agreement with the United States, signaling a convergence in positions while cautioning that significant differences persist. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei pointed to "a trend towards rapprochement" with Washington, though he noted this does not guarantee an immediate consensus on critical issues. He expressed hope that the details of a final pact could be ironed out within a 30 to 60-day window once the framework is solidified. "Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses," Esmaeil Baqaei said on state television. The announcement followed a diplomatic visit to Tehran by Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir, who has been acting as a key mediator between the two nations to halt the conflict.

Hostilities erupted on February 28 following joint Israeli-US airstrikes that killed senior Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliatory missile and drone strikes across the region from Tehran. Since a fragile ceasefire took effect on April 8, the opposing sides have exchanged notes on the possibility of a more permanent end to hostilities. Munir also met President Masoud Pezeshkian before leaving Tehran. According to Baqaei, the framework's primary objective is securing an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, alongside lifting the US naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports since April 13. The draft also incorporates strategic arrangements for the vital Strait of Hormuz. Iran has held tight control over this critical global shipping channel since the war began, requiring transit vessels to obtain military clearance.

Baqaei clarified that the framework excludes immediate details on Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, noting both core issues will be deferred to separate, highly detailed negotiations later. "The Strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with the United States. A mechanism for the strait should be defined between Iran and Oman as coastal states," Baqaei said. "It is also one of the points that we will need to examine in detail in the near future," he said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting India, also said some progress had been made on Iran and that the US might have "something to say" on the issue in the coming days. "There's been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done.

There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say," Rubio told reporters in New Delhi. He repeated Trump's demands: "Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The straits need to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their enriched uranium." US President Donald Trump told CBS in a phone interview on Saturday that the United States and Iran are "getting a lot closer" to an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.