Tehran says it has not decided on an agreement

Iran and Pakistan’s mediator said Friday that an agreement with the United States was imminent to end three and a half months of conflict in the Middle East. A senior American official is also optimistic.

After weeks of laborious negotiations and repeatedly dashed hopes, are we in the home stretch? The main protagonists say they are confident, even if the version of the text given by the Iranian media differs significantly from that put forward by Washington.

Le memorandum d’entente d’Islamabad [capitale du Pakistan, médiateur des négociations] has never been so closewrote on X the head of Iranian diplomacy Abbas Araghchi, calling on the media not to speculating about its contents and promising details in due time.

The spokesperson for his ministry confirmed on state television that an agreement had been reached on most points and that a meeting was underway to obtain consensus between decision-making bodies an Iran.

Same positive tone from the side of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, main negotiator in this conflict triggered by American-Israeli strikes on February 28, before the entry into force of a truce on April 8. Peace has never been closer than todayaccording to Shehbaz Sharif.

In Washington, the senior official estimates on condition of anonymity that there are 80 à 85 % probability of a framework agreement (Memorandum of understanding) opening a period of 60 days of technical discussions, but pas 100 %. The finish line is not yet crossedat-il having you.

Markets are betting on a quick deal

Switzerland has already offered to host a possible signature, while a G7 summit in the presence of Donald Trump is due to begin on Monday in Évian, on the banks of Lake Geneva, on the French side. And the markets are betting on an agreement, with oil falling below $90 per barrel.

The American president, who has already announced an imminent agreement 39 times according to a count by the news channel CNN, is struggling to find a way out of this unpopular war, as the mid-term elections approach and his country should be celebrating with the World Cup football co-organized by the United States.

Donald Trump launched a scathing message on Friday: The terms [d’accord] that Iran leaked to the lying media has NOTHING to do with the terms we agreed to in writingwrote the Republican billionaire on his network, Truth Social.

These are people who have no honor. With them it is impossible to negotiate in good faithhe said.

Open in full screen mode

The Iranian Mehr press agency published during the day what it presented as a draft protocol in 14 points, with draconian conditions: maintenance of control over the Strait of Hormuz, right to uranium enrichment, rapid release of 24 billion dollars in funds Iranians frozen abroad.

Washington, for his part, delivered a completely different version of the text.

The compromise must, according to the official, lead to the reopening of Hormuz, a strategic sea route for global hydrocarbon trade.

It must also lead to diamond of the Iranian nuclear program and allow the United States to recover highly enriched uranium, which would be destroyed on siteThen released of the country.

Tehran denies wanting to acquire an atomic bomb, as the United States and Israel accuse it of doing.

Finally, on the question of assets, Iranians will not receive money and funds will not be released simply by signing an agreement or attending a meetinginsisted X the American vice-president, JD Vance.

This point is central for Iran, after decades of sanctions which are suffocating its economy.

What is an agreement for?

The conflict has engulfed the Middle East, left thousands dead, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and shaken the world economy.

I don’t know if this will be good or bad for usréagit à Téhéran auprès de l’AFP a 29-year-old woman, asking to remain anonymous. The main goal of this war was for the United States to dismantle the system, and that was not the case. So what is a deal for?

Open in full screen mode

Another major sticking point, the Lebanese front.

According to Washington, the agreement under discussion with Iran does include Lebanon, as Tehran demanded even though Washington had always said it wanted to deal with this issue separately.

Lebanon was drawn into war on March 2, when Hezbollah targeted Israeli territory in support of Iran. Since then, Israel has been shelling the neighboring country, saying it wants liminer the Shiite movement, strikes which left more than 3,700 dead.