Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in an interview on state television on Saturday that Washington and Tehran were “far from reaching a final agreement” and that the ceasefire was set to expire in the next few days.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that although negotiations were still ongoing, Iran had become “a little bit cute.” He has said multiple times this week that a deal with Iran is very close and that Iran has made several important concessions.
Signaling that there are still many hurdles to overcome, President Trump has threatened not to extend the current ceasefire if Iran fails to reach a deal.
The main issues are:
The fate of Iran’s uranium stockpile: President Trump suggested this week that he would agree to ship Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States, but the claim was quickly denounced by senior Iranian officials, who called the request a “dud.”
Iran has about 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. One proposal being floated is for the Iranian government to unfreeze Iranian assets in exchange for handing over the stockpile.
Iran is seeking significant sanctions relief and the unfreezing of more than $20 billion in assets, a person familiar with the negotiations told CNN.
Curbing uranium enrichment: The duration of the moratorium on Iran’s enrichment program also remains a point of contention. An Iranian official told CNN that he would “never accept” that Iran is an “exception to international law” and denied President Trump’s claim that Tehran had agreed to suspend the program indefinitely.
During talks last weekend, U.S. negotiators proposed a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, a person familiar with the talks told CNN. According to U.S. officials, Iran responded by offering a five-year suspension, which the United States rejected.
Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz: The world breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as Iran announced it would reopen a key shipping lane that had been effectively closed for almost two months.
However, that reprieve did not last long. Iran announced it would reimpose tough restrictions on shipping after President Trump said the U.S. would continue to block Iranian ports until a deal is reached.
CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey, Frederick Preitgen, Alaina Trine and Kevin Liptak contributed reporting.
