The US and Iran are getting closer, at least on the drawing board where plans for a peace agreement are being drawn up. But the gap still seems too great for a peace agreement.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry is almost ready with its proposal for a 14-point agreement, spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says on Iranian television.
But at the same time, he is ruling out discussing Iran's nuclear program within the agreement.
At this stage, we will not discuss the details of the nuclear issue. We have prioritized an urgent issue for all of us: ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Threatening Iran
The nuclear program and Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons are the most important issues for the United States, as President Donald Trump emphasized again on Saturday. The issue of Iran's highly enriched uranium must be included and agreed upon in a "satisfactory manner," according to Trump. Otherwise he wouldn't even be talking about an agreement being close, he told CBS News.
I'll just sign a contract where we get everything we want.
In an interview with the news site Axios, he says there is "a solid 50-50 percent chance" of an agreement, otherwise he will "blow them to pieces."
Some would much rather see an agreement, while others would rather see a continuation of the war, he continues, denying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be worried about an agreement that does not benefit Israel.
Long way to go
His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, pushed for a quick agreement on Saturday and expressed himself somewhat more diplomatically.
"There has been some progress," he said, according to AFP, at a press conference in India, claiming that there could be news "later today, tomorrow or in a couple of days."
Iran states a slightly longer path to an agreement.
"Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will be determined," Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to AFP.
