U.S. sees progress in Iran talks, Tehran says no deal yet

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

A top Iranian official says a deal to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is not imminent, despite earlier suggestions from U.S. officials that an agreement could come as soon as Monday.

The comments come after reports surfaced that negotiators were nearing a breakthrough as talks continued over a potential ceasefire extension and an end to the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said Monday that, while negotiators have made progress, no final agreement has been reached.

“It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion,” Baqai said in Tehran on Monday. “But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no one can make such a claim.”

His remarks came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Delhi on Monday that a “pretty solid” proposal is on the table.

“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today,” Rubio said. “I wouldn’t read too much into it. Takes a little while to get back.”

Rubio said U.S. officials are not in a hurry to make a deal.

“The president said he’s not in a hurry,” Rubio said. “He’s not going to make a bad deal, and the president’s not going to make a bad agreement. So let’s see what happens. We’re going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives.”

One of the likely hangups with negotiations remains the Trump administration’s insistence that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Last week, President Donald Trump told The Center Square the U.S. would secure that outcome “one way or the other.”

“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Thursday. “That’s more important than anything else.”

Trump made the comments after The Center Square asked for clarification on Vice President JD Vance’s earlier statements about uncertainty around a future deal.

“It’s not sometimes totally clear what the negotiating position of the team is, and I don’t know if that’s sometimes bad communication, if that’s bad faith,” Vance said last Tuesday. “It’s sometimes hard to figure out exactly what it is that the Iranians want to accomplish out of the negotiation.”

The conflict with Iran first broke out 86 days ago, on February 28. In early March, Trump promised America would not be involved for long.

“We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil,” Trump said regarding the war in Iran. “And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.”