US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that he is very close to concluding an agreement with Tehran on the Iranian nuclear program, BTA reports.
"We are conducting very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace", Trump said during his tour of the Gulf. We are getting closer to the possibility of concluding a deal. There are two approaches to this - one very, very nice and the other - by force, but I don't want it to happen the second way, he added, quoted by Western publications.
However, an Iranian source said that there are still disagreements to be resolved, the newspaper noted. "USA Today".
The publication recalls that the last talks between Iranian and American negotiators took place in Oman on May 11 and ended with plans for a new round of talks, as Tehran insists on continuing with uranium enrichment.
Although both Tehran and Washington say they prefer a diplomatic solution to the decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program, the countries remain at odds on a number of key issues that negotiators will have to overcome to reach a new agreement.
President Trump said yesterday that the United States and Iran "in a sense" have agreed on the terms of the nuclear deal, the newspaper also wrote. "Los Angeles Times".
However, during his visit to the Gulf region this week, he stressed that military action against Iran's nuclear facilities remained possible if the talks failed.
Yesterday, just hours after Trump said the two countries were close to an agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran's ability to enrich uranium remained a fundamental right of the Iranian people and a red line in the nuclear talks.
The publication also quoted the top political, military and nuclear adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Ali Shamkhani, who told NBC News on Wednesday that Tehran is ready to eliminate its stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to develop weapons, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to monitor the process.
The French newspaper "Figaro" added that when asked if Iran would agree to sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Ali Shamkhani replied "yes". "That is still possible. If the Americans do what they say, it is certain that we will be able to have better relations", which "will improve the situation in the near future," the Iranian official said.
The Israeli newspaper "Jerusalem Post" notes that during the latest round of negotiations, the US presented a written proposal for a nuclear deal for the first time.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned the proposal to Tehran for consultations with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Massoud Pazeshkian and other senior officials, the publication writes.
The Israeli newspaper also draws attention to the Iranian president's reaction to Trump's comments on Tuesday, when he called Tehran "the most destructive force" in the Middle East and contrasted the "collapse and suffering" caused by Iranian leaders with the "constructive vision" of Saudi Arabia.
"Trump thinks he can impose sanctions and threaten us, and then talk about human rights. "All crimes and regional instability are caused by them (the US)," Pezeshkian said, adding that Tehran wants peace in contrast to US warmongering.
"Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country. How can we be against them? Trump wants to put Islamic countries on one side and Iran on the other. He wants to create instability inside Iran," he added.
For its part, the "Financial Times" reported that oil prices fell yesterday after the US president said Washington was close to a deal on Iran's nuclear program, which could pave the way for increased crude oil supplies.
"Traders focused on the prospect of a nuclear deal between the US and Iran, which could lead to the lifting of economic sanctions on the country and potentially lead to increased oil supplies," said Russ Mould, chief investment officer at "AG Bell".