Iran has agreed to give up its highly enriched uranium stockpile, as part of the agreement being formed between it and the United States.
According to a report in the New York Times last night (Sunday) from two American officials, the current proposal on the table does not specify exactly how the removal and delivery of the material will be implemented, and discussion of these details has been postponed to the next round of talks on the nuclear program.
The report indicates that the Iranian regime initially refused to include any commitment regarding uranium in the initial phase of the agreement. However, US representatives made it clear through intermediaries that without explicit agreement on the fate of the stockpile in the initial part of the deal, they would renew the military campaign against the country.
The report also notes that Iran possesses approximately 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60%, and that options discussed at the same time include transferring the material outside of Iran or diluting it.
The Pakistani proposal that was put forward also includes extending the ceasefire by 60 days, opening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the blockade on Iranian ports, removing restrictions on frozen Iranian funds, and including Lebanon in the agreement.
Some of these issues are still far from being concluded - but the Pakistanis claim that there is progress in the talks.
The White House chose not to comment on the report.
According to another report on the Axios news website, the United States and Iran are close to signing a 60-day memorandum of understanding, which can be extended by mutual consent.
Main points of the agreement: Iran will remove mines in the Strait of Hormuz and allow free navigation without fees; the United States will lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and provide relief from sanctions for the free sale of oil; an oral Iranian commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, alongside negotiations on suspending uranium enrichment.
It was also reported that the agreement also includes the end of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim have published the draft memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington. According to the draft, the United States and its allies will not attack Iran and its allies, while Iran undertakes not to carry out a preemptive military attack on the United States and its allies. It also stipulates that the United States will remove the status that imposes sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and an end to the war will be declared on all fronts, including Lebanon, along with an explicit demand from Israel to stop the war.
According to Tasnim, 30 days will be allocated for regulating the Strait of Hormuz and ending the naval blockade, and 60 days for negotiations on the nuclear issue. The United States will also lift sanctions imposed on Iranian oil. Iran has not yet agreed to any concessions or changes to its nuclear program.
A senior Israeli official told Amit Segal: The emerging agreement is bad because it signals to the Iranians that they have a weapon no less effective than a nuclear weapon - and that is the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump believes the agreement is purely economic and includes the mutual opening of the Strait of Hormuz, with any progress dependent on the removal of the nuclear weapons. In practice, it is unclear what will happen after Phase I.
The small cabinet will meet tonight.
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