TEHRAN: Iran said Monday that Tehran and Washington had reached understandings on many issues in exchanges over a deal for ending the war, but warned an agreement was not imminent.
“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, during a weekly news briefing.
“But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent — no one can make such a claim,” he said, accusing Washington of shifting its positions, reports AFP,
Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that an agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran could materialise “today”, signalling cautious optimism as diplomatic efforts intensify across the Middle East.
“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today, I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Rubio said in New Delhi, referring to the potential agreement.
“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open,” he told reporters as he departed the Indian capital, where he has been on an official visit.
“It has a lot of support in the Gulf… every country that we’ve walked through it (with) understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.”
Rubio also voiced confidence that Iran would “enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter”.
He addressed reporters ahead of the next leg of his India visit, which will see him travel to Agra, the northern city famous for the Taj Mahal.
The United States and Iran have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators push for a negotiated settlement. However, Iran has imposed controls on Gulf shipping, and the US has blockaded Iran’s ports.
The war erupted after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic on February 28, and Iran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.
Rubio’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump said Sunday he had told his negotiators not to “rush,” even after both Tehran and Washington signalled progress towards an agreement to end the war.
“He’s not in a hurry, he’s not going to make a bad deal, and the president’s not going to make a bad agreement,” Rubio said of Trump.
“I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump said in a social media post Sunday.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 24, 2026
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified and signed,” he added.
In a separate post to Trump’s Truth Social, it read that the deal “has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the various other Countries.”
Iran’s Tasnim news agency said Sunday its information was that key clauses of a possible agreement remained “unresolved at this time,” including the issue of frozen Iranian assets.
The hint of optimism caused oil prices to plunge close to five percent on Monday.
The price of North Sea Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate slipped to $99.41 and $92.49 a barrel, respectively.
Nuclear Issue
Rubio told The New York Times that an agreement with Iran had gained regional support but a nuclear deal couldn’t be achieved “in 72 hours on the back of a napkin.”
“Right now, we have seven or eight countries in the region that are endorsing this approach, and we’re prepared to move forward on this approach,” he said.
Earlier, Rubio had said a bargain could be struck to end the regional war as early as Sunday, but Trump again reined in expectations.
A post on Trump’s Truth Social read: “If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one,” adding that “It isn’t even fully negotiated yet.”
‘Lasting peace’
Iranian officials confirmed the existence of a draft agreement but stressed that — despite the long-standing US demand for an end to its uranium enrichment — talks on the issue of Iran’s contested nuclear program have been deferred for 60 days after any deal.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state television that Tehran was “still prepared to assure the world that we are not seeking nuclear weapons,” but it was unclear if this promise would be enshrined in the text of the deal.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian:
We are ready to reassure the world that we are not seeking nuclear weapons.
We are not seeking instability in the region. It is Israel that is the destabilizer in the region.
Our negotiating team will not compromise when it counts to our… pic.twitter.com/nB3f1tPr7U
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 24, 2026
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, “sanctions on oil, gas, petrochemicals and their derivatives would be temporarily lifted during the negotiation period so that Iran can freely sell its products.”
Leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, as well as representatives from Turkey and Pakistan, joined a call with Trump to discuss the deal on Saturday.
Pakistan ready to host next round of US-Iran talks
Pakistan, which mediated historic face-to-face negotiations between US and Iranian delegations in April, hopes to host another round of talks “very soon,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
I congratulate President Donald Trump on his extraordinary efforts to pursue peace and for holding a very useful and productive telephone call earlier today, with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Pakistan. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir…
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 24, 2026
In a statement shared on X, Prime Minister Sharif described the discussions as “very useful and productive”, saying they provided an important platform for consultations on the evolving regional situation and possible pathways towards long-term stability.
He said Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, who visited Tehran on Friday and Saturday, also joined the call, which “provided a useful opportunity… to move the ongoing peace efforts forward to bring lasting peace in the region.”
